THE     LITTLE 

COLONEL   AT 

BC    RDING- SCHOOL 


•    FELLOWS 
JOHNSTON 


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OF 

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"SHE    STOOD    THERE    ON    THE    PLATFORM,    WAVING    HER 

H  ANDKERCH IEF." 

(See  page  joo) 


Cbe  Little  Colonel 
at  Boarding-school 

By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 

Author  of  "  The  Little  Colonel  Series,"  "  Bi£  Brother," 
"  Ole  Mammy's  Torment,"  "  Asa  Holmes,"  etc. 

Illustrated  by   ETHELDRED  B.  BARRY 


This  learned  1  from  the  shadow  of  a  tree, 
Which  to  and  fro  did  sroay  upon  a  mall, 
Our  shadow  selves  —  our  influence  —  may  fall 
Where  we  can  neoer  be. " 


BOSTON  *  L.  C.  PAGE 
&  COMPANY  *  PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1903 
B*  L.  C.  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 
All  rights  reserved 


Published,  July,  1903 


Thirteenth  Impression,  March,  1909 


5?  ^ 

J-fc  v/  JU- 


I 
o 


TO 

9111  tbr 

WHO,   LIKE  THE   LITTLE   COLONEL, 

ARE 

"STANDING   WITH   RELUCTANT   FEET 
WHERE  THE   BROOK  AND   RIVER   MEET, 
WOMANHOOD  AND  CHILDHOOD  SWEET." 


577423 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  OFF  TO  BOARDING  -  SCHOOL    .        .        .        .11 

II.    A  NEW  FRIEND 27 

III.  IDA'S  SECRET           ;       .        .        .        „        .      48 

IV.  THE  SHADOW  CLUB         .....      69 

V.     AT  THE  BEECHES 89 

VI.     UNINVITED  GUESTS 101 

VII.  THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE     .        .        .     123 

VIII.  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUH         .        .     139 

IX.  ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  .        .        .        .        .158 

X.    A  PLOT .176 

XI.  A  WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING      .        .        .190 

XII.  GHOST  OR  GIRL       .        .  *     .                .        .    213 

XIII.  THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  .        .        .228 

XIV.  THE  THREE  WEAVERS     .        .        .        .      ,  .    246 
XV.  THANKSGIVING  DAY          .        .        .        .        .    275 

XVI.  CHRISTMAS     GREENS     AND     WATCH-NIGHT 

EMBERS 287 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGB 

"  SHE  STOOD  THERE  ON  THE  PLATFORM,  WAVING 

HER  HANDKERCHIEF"    (See page 300)     .        Frontispiece 

"  SHE  TURNED  HER  WHITE  FINGERS  IN  THE  MOON 
LIGHT "  .  . 6l 

"'THis  LITTLE  KNAVE  MUST  BE  MY  PARTNER'"      .     130 

"  SHE  COULD  HEAR  EVERY  WORD  OF  THE  CONVER 
SATION  "  .  . 167 

««  HE  HELD  IT  ASIDE  FOR  THEM  BOTH  TO  PASS 

THROUGH  "  .  .. 199 

"  MlTTIE  SAT  UP  IN  BED,  TOO   STARTLED  TO  UTTER 

A  SOUND"      .        * 220 

"'IT'S  LIKE  A  BIT  OF  HOME  TO  SEE  YOU  AGAIN'"   .     283 
"  MALCOLM,  LEANING  ON  HIS  GUN,  STOOD  WATCHING 

HER" 293 


THE   LITTLE   COLONEL  AT 

(Trade  Mark) 

BOARDING-SCHOOL 


CHAPTER   I. 

OFF  TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

SOMETHING  unusual  was  happening"  at  Locust. 
Although  it  was  early  in  September,  and  the  heat 
and  dust  of  a  Kentucky  summer  still  lingered  in 
every  corner  of  Lloydsboro  Valley,  the  great  house 
with  its  vine-covered  pillars  was  being  hastily  put 
in  order  for  winter  closing. 

Rob  Moore,  swinging  his  tennis  racket  as  he  saun 
tered  down  the  avenue  under  the  arching  locust-trees, 
stopped  short  with  a  whistle  of  surprise.  The  tennis 
net  was  down.  He  had  come  at  the  Little  Colonel's 
invitation  for  a  farewell  game,  as  they  were  both 
to  start  to  school  on  the  morrow,  she  in  the  Valley, 
and  he  in  town.  He  could  not  understand  the  sud 
den  removal  of  the  net. 

ii 


12        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Then  he  noticed  that  every  hammock  and  garden- 
chair  had  disappeared  from  the  lawn.  Not  even 
the  usual  trail  of  magazines  and  palm-leaf  fans 
was  left  on  the  grass,  to  show  that  somebody  had 
been  spending  a  comfortable  hour  in  the  shade. 
Usually  at  this  time  in  the  afternoon  there  was  a 
flutter  of  ribbons  and  white  dresses  somewhere  back 
among  the  trees;  but  the  place  was  deserted  now. 
The  wicker  tea-table  was  gone  from  its  corner  on 
the  piazza.  The  rugs  and  cushions  which  had  filled 
the  cosy  corners  behind  the  vines  were  packed  away. 
The  lace  curtains  were  down  in  the  long  drawing- 
room,  and,  peering  through  the  windows  which 
opened  to  the  floor,  he  saw  a  coloured  man,  busily 
shrouding  the  handsome  old  furniture  in  linen  covers. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Alec?  "  asked  Rob.  "  What 
has  become  of  everybody  ?  " 

"  Done  had  bad  news  from  Ole  Colonel  las'  night," 
answered  the  man.  "  Walkah  telegraphed  from  Hot 
Springs  that  ole  Marse's  rheumatiz  is  wuss,  and 
Mis'  Sherman  she's  gwine  down  to  stay  with  him 
awhile,  an'  the  young  ladies  is  gwine  to  bo'din'- 
school.  We  all's  fixin'  to  shet  up  the  place  till 
Chris'mus." 

Rob  gave  another  long  whistle,  shrill  and  loud. 


OFF  TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL  13 

"  Boarding-school !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Well,  this  is 
the  biggest  surprise  out !  " 

His  whistle  was  answered  from  the  upper  hall 
by  a  clear  high  trill,  which  had  been  the  Little 
Colonel's  signal  for  him  since  the  first  summer  they 
had  played  together.  Giving  the  answering  call 
he  stepped  inside  the  hall,  and  standing  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs  peered  up  anxiously  at  the  laughing 
face  leaning  over  the  banister-rail  above  him. 

"  Come  down,  Lloyd,  and  tell  me  all  about  it," 
he  demanded. 

"  I  can't  now,"  she  replied,  in  an  important  tone, 
smiling  tantalizingly  at  the  tall,  broad-shouldered 
boy  who  shook  his  racket  at  her  with  a  threaten 
ing  gesture.  "  Mothah  has  gone  to  town,  and  Mom 
Beck  is  packing  my  trunk.  I  have  to  show  her  what 
things  to  put  into  it.  Betty  is  down  there  some 
where.  She'll  take  the  edge  off  yoah  curiosity. 
Betty,"  she  called,  catching  sight  of  a  pink  dress 
whisking  through  the  lower  hall,  "  don't  tell  Rob 
what  school  we  are  going  to.  Make  him  guess." 

"  All  right,"  answered  Betty,  with  a  mischievous 
light  in  her  brown  eyes,  as  she  tossed  back  her 
curls  and  led  the  way  out  to  the  stone  steps.  "  We'll 
have  to  sit  out  here.  All  the  hammocks  and  porch- 
chairs  are  packed  away  in  the  attic,"  she  explained, 


14        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

as  she  spread  out  the  pink  skirt  and  leaned  com 
fortably  back  against  one  of  the  white  pillars. 

"  Seems  to  me  you've  been  in  a  howling  hurry 
with  your  planning  and  your  packing,"  said  Rob, 
in  an  aggrieved  tone.  "  I  didn't  hear  a  whisper  of 
all  this  when  I  was  here  yesterday  evening." 

"  The  telegram  didn't  come  until  after  you  had 
gone,"  answered  Betty.  "  But  I  think  godmother 
must  have  been  expecting  it,  for  in  half  an  hour 
her  plans  were  all  made,  and  the  packing  began 
early  this  morning.  As  Papa  Jack's  business  will 
keep  him  away  nearly  all  fall,  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  close  the  house  and  send  Lloyd  and  me  to 
boarding-school.  You  can't  imagine  how  busy  we've 
been.  We  are  to  leave  to-morrow  morning." 

"  So  are  we,"  answered  Rob.  "  Oaklea  looks 
nearly  as  deserted  as  Locust.  I  always  hate  this 
breaking-up  time  at  the  end  of  every  summer." 

As  he  spoke,  a  delicious  odour  of  hot  ginger 
bread  was  wafted  around  the  corner  of  the  house 
from  the  distant  kitchen,  and  he  stopped  to  look  at 
Betty  and  smile. 

"  What  does  that  make  you  think  of  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Of  a  lovely  September  afternoon  just  like  this," 
answered  Betty,  dreamily,  half-closing  her  eyes  and 
drawing  in  the  fragrance  with  a  slow,  deep  breath. 


OFF  TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL  15 

"  Of  long  shadows  on  the  lawn  and  the  sunshine 
flickering  down  through  the  locust  leaves  like  gold, 
just  as  it  is  doing  now.  Of  Malcolm  Maclntyre 
sitting  over  where  you  are,  thrumming  on  his  banjo, 
and  of  Keith  and  you  and  Lloyd  and  me  all  singing 
*  My  Old  Kentucky  Home.'  Is  that  what  it  makes 
you  think  of  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  and  the  chase  we  gave  old  Aunt  Cindy. 
Wasn't  she  mad  when  I  made  off  with  that  ginger 
bread  !  I  can  hear  her  old  slipper  soles  yet,  flopping 
down  the  path  after  me." 

"  How  long  ago  that  seems,"  mused  Betty,  "  and 
yet  it's  only  two  years." 

"  It  surely  must  be  longer  than  that,"  exclaimed 
Rob. 

"  No,  don't  you  remember,  it  was  just  after 
Lloyd's  ;house  party,  when  she  was  eleven  and  I 
was  twelve.  I  went  abroad  that  fall  with  Cousin 
Carl  and  Eugenia,  and  stayed  with  them  a  year. 
And  I've  only  been  living  at  Locust  a  year.  Now 
I'm  a  little  over  fourteen  and  Lloyd's  thirteen;  so 
that  just  makes  it." 

"  Thirteen  yeahs  and  foah  months  exactly,  if 
you're  talking  about  me,"  said  the  Little  Colonel, 
coming  out  on  the  porch  with  a  plate  in  her  hands. 
"  I  smelled  the  gingahbread,  so  I  told  Mom  Beck 


1 6        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

I'd  have  to  stop  for  refreshments,  and  she  could 
finish  packing  by  herself.  I've  piled  everything  on 
the  bed  that  I  thought  I  could  possibly  need  at 
bo'ding-school,  and  that's  neahly  everything  I  own. 
One  needs  so  many  things  going  off  from  home  this 
way.  Have  some?" 

She  passed  the  plate  to  each  one,  and  then,  sitting 
down  on  the  top  step  beside  it,  helped  herself  to  a 
slice  of  the  hot,  spicy  cake. 

"  Oh,  Rob,  we're  going  to  have  such  larks !  "  she 
began.  "  I've  always  wanted  to  go  away  to  school, 
and  have  midnight  suppahs  and  do  the  things  you 
read  about  in  stories.  I've  heard  mothah  talk  about 
the  funny  things  that  happened  at  the  seminary  when 
she  was  a  girl,  till  I  was  simply  wild  to  go  there, 
too.  And  now  it  seems  too  good  to  be  true,  that 
we  are  really  going,  and  are  to  have  the  very  same 
room  that  she  had  one  term  when  grandfathah  was 
away  from  home,  and  she  boahded  there  in  little 
old  Lloydsboro  Seminary  just  as  we  are  going  to 
do.  There!  "  she  added,  ruefully,  clapping  her  hand 
over  her  mouth.  "  I've  gone  and  told  you,  and  I 
intended  to  keep  you  guessing  for  an  hou'ah.  I  knew 
you'd  nevah  think  that  we  were  going  to  stay  right 
here  in  the  Valley." 

"  Of  course  not,"  answered  Rob.    "  You've  been 


OFF   TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL  I/ 

a  day  pupil  at  that  old  seminary  for  the  last  five 
years,  ever  since  you  started  to  school.  I'd  naturally 
suppose  that  when  you  packed  up  all  you  owned 
and  started  off  to  school  you'd  at  least  go  out  of 
the  sight  of  your  own  chimney  smoke.  I  don't 
see  where  the  fun  is  coming  in.  I  can't  think  of 
anything  more  stupid.  Instead  of  tearing  around 
the  country  on  horseback  after  lessons,  as  you've 
always  done,  riding  where  you  please,  you'll  have 
to  take  walks  with  a  gang  of  other  girls  with  a 
teacher  at  the  head  of  the  procession.  It's  great 
exercise,  that,  taking  steps  about  an  inch  long  and 
saying  nothing  but  prunes  and  prisms." 

"  Don't  you  believe  that's  all ! "  cried  Lloyd. 
"  We'll  have  to  take  the  walks,  of  co'se,  but  think 
of  the  time  we'll  have  for  basket-ball.  We'll  be 
able  to  play  the  Anchorage  girls  by  Thanksgiving, 
and  I  couldn't  have  been  on  the  team  if  I'd  been 
only  a  day  pupil." 

"  Of  course  we'll  miss  the  ponies,"  Betty  added. 
"  Godmother  tried  to  make  some  arrangement 
with  President  Wells  to  let  us  ride  every  day; 
but  he  said  he  couldn't  make  an  exception  in  our 
case  without  being  accused  of  partiality.  If  we 
came  as  regular  pupils  we  must  conform  to  the 


1 8        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

regular  rules,  and  could  not  have  even  the  liberties 
we  always  had  as  day  pupils." 

"  Except  in  one  thing,"  corrected  Lloyd.  "  We 
can  still  go  to  the  post-office  for  our  mail,  instead 
of  having  all  our  lettahs  pass  through  the  principal's 
hands.  Mothah  thought  it  wouldn't  be  worth  while 
to  change  the  address  for  just  one  term,  especially 
as  she  wants  me  to  forward  the  mail  that  comes 
to  our  box  for  Papa  Jack.  He  changes  his  address 
so  often  on  these  business  trips  that  he  couldn't 
keep  notifying  the  postmistress  all  the  time,  so  I 
am  to  do  it." 

"  Well,  I  pity  you! "  exclaimed  Rob,  teasingly, 
tapping  his  racket  against  the  toes  of  his  tennis  shoes. 
"  Boarding-schools  are  a  bad  lot,  all  that  I've  ever 
heard  of.  Scorched  oatmeal  and  dried  apples,  with 
old  cats  watching  at  every  keyhole !  Ugh !  " 

Both  girls  laughed  at  his  scowl  of  disgust,  and 
Betty  hastened  to  say,  "  But  we'll  have  Aunt  Cindy 
to  fall  back  on  if  the  fare  gets  too  bad.  That's  the 
beauty  of  staying  so  near  home.  Mom  Beck  is  to 
come  every  Monday  to  get  our  clothes  to  launder, 
and  every  Saturday  to  bring  them  back  and  see  that 
we  are  all  right,  and  you  know  she'll  not  let  us 
starve.  And  there  aren't  any  old  cats  in  this  school, 
Rob.  Miss  Edith  is  a  dear.  The  girls  fairly  love 


OFF   TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL  19 

the  ground  she  walks  on,  and  I'm  sure  that 
nobody  could  be  nicer  and  more  motherly  than  Mrs. 
Clelling." 

"How  about  Miss  Bina  McCannister  ?  "  asked 
Rob,  with  a  wry  face.  "  She  is  cross  enough  to 
stop  a  clock,  sober  and  prim  and  crabbed,  with  eyes 
like  a  fish.  I  went  up  there  one  day  with  a  note 
from  grandfather  to  Professor  Fowler,  and  she  gave 
me  such  a  stony  glare  because  I  happened  to  let  a 
door  bang,  that  I  had  cold  shivers  down  my  spine 
for  a  week." 

"Oh,  Rob,"  laughed  Lloyd.  "Aren't  you 
ashamed  to  talk  so?  Anyhow,  Miss  McCannister 
will  not  bother  us,  because  we  are  not  in  any  of 
her  classes." 

"  But  she'll  take  her  turn  in  trotting  you  out  to 
walk,  just  the  same.  Then  think  what  a  glad  pro 
cession  that  will  be.  You'll  feel  like  prisoners  in  a 
chain-gang." 

"  Talk  all  you  want  to,  if  it  amuses  you  any," 
said  Lloyd,  passing  the  gingerbread  around  once 
more.  "  It  won't  keep  us  from  having  a  good  time 
at  bo'ding-school." 

"  Well,  I'm  coming  out  again  at  Thanksgiving. 
There's  to  be  a  big  family  reunion  at  Oaklea  this 
year,  and  if  you've  stood  the  storm  and  still  think 


20        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

that  boarding-school  life  is  funny,  I'll  stand  treat 
to  a  five-pound  box  of  Huyler's  best.  You  can  let 
that  thought  buoy  you  up  through  all  the  hungry 
hours  between  that  time  and  this." 

"  Mercy,  Rob,  don't  throw  cold  water  on  all  our 
bright  hopes  like  that,"  cried  Betty,  springing  up 
as  she  heard  her  name  spoken  in  the  hall.  "  Mom 
Beck  wants  me.  She  is  ready  to  begin  packing  my 
trunk." 

"  I  must  go  in  a  few  minutes,"  said  Rob,  "  so 
if  you're  disappearing  now,  I'll  say  good-bye  till 
Thanksgiving." 

Betty  held  out  her  warm  little  hand.  "  Good-bye. 
*  Be  good,  sweet  child,  and  let  who  will  be  clever,' ' 
she  quoted,  as  Rob  gave  it  an  awkward  shake. 

"  Practise  what  you  preach,  Grandma  Betty,"  he 
said,  in  a  severe  tone,  but  his  blue  eyes  were  smiling 
into  her  brown  ones  with  a  softened  light  in  them. 
She  had  been  a  merry  little  comrade  in  the  summer 
just  gone,  and  then  there  was  something  in  the 
brown  eyes  that  made  everybody  smile  on  Betty. 

As  she  turned  to  go  she  saw  that  the  last  crumb 
of  gingerbread  had  disappeared,  and  stooping,  picked 
up  the  plate.  She  recognized  it  as  her  godmother's 
pet  piece  of  Delft  ware.  "  I'll  take  this  in  before 
anybody  steps  in  it,"  she  said. 


OFF  TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL  21 

"  Thanks,"  said  Lloyd,  lazily,  without  looking 
around,  but  she  turned  to  Rob  as  soon  as  they  were 
alone.  "  Betty  is  always  so  thoughtful  about  such 
things.  I  wouldn't  know  how  to  get  along  without 
her  now,  and  to  think,  when  she  first  came  heah 
to  live,  I  wasn't  suah  that  I  wanted  her!  I  had 
nevah  had  to  divide  with  anybody  befoah,  and  I 
was  afraid  I  should  be  jealous.  But  nobody  could  be 
jealous  of  Betty.  She  seems  like  a  real  suah  enough 
sistah  now,  and  bo'ding-school  will  be  twice  the  fun 
because  she  can  go  with  me." 

"  Betty's  a  brick,"  agreed  Rob2  emphatically,  "  the 
nicest  girl  I  know,  except  you,  but  I  can't  imagine 
her  planning  scrapes.  She's  too  much  afraid  of  hurt 
ing  somebody's  feelings  for  that." 

"  She's  not  planning  scrapes.  Neithah  of  us 
want  to  do  anything  really  bad.  We  only  want  to 
stir  the  seminary  up  a  bit,  and  make  it  lively.  We're 
growing  up  so  fast  that  if  we  don't  have  some  fun 
soon,  it  will  be  too  late.  In  only  a  few  moah  yeahs 
I'll  be  through  school,  and  then  I'll  have  to  be  a 
debutante  and  settle  down  to  be  propah  and  young 
ladified.  Mom  Beck  always  used  to  be  telling  me 
to  '  sit  still  and  be  a  little  lady/  and  if  there's  any 
thing  I  despised  it  was  that." 

"  How  fast  the  shadows  grow  long  these  after- 


22        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

noons,"  said  Rob,  presently,  looking  at  his  watch. 
"  It's  nearly  time  for  me  to  go.  Come  on  down  to 
the  measuring-tree.  We  mustn't  forget  our  good 
bye  ceremony." 

Seven  Septembers  were  marked  on  the  tall  locust 
that  they  called  their  measuring-tree.  It  towered 
above  a  rustic  seat  half-way  down  the  avenue.  Lloyd 
laid  one  finger  on  the  lowest  notch  and  another  on 
the  next  mark  a  few  inches  above  it. 

"  There  wasn't  neahly  so  much  difference  in  our 
heights  when  I  was  five  and  you  six  as  there  is 
now,"  she  said,  with  a  little  sigh.  "  You're  almost 
as  tall  as  Papa  Jack,  and  I'm  only  up  to  yoah 
shouldah.  You're  growing  away  from  me  so  fast, 
Bobby." 

Rob  threw  back  his  shoulders  complacently. 
"  Daddy  says  that  is  why  I  am  so  awkward ;  that 
my  height  is  too  much  for  a  fourteen-year-old  boy 
to  manage  gracefully.  I'll  soon  be  through  grow 
ing  at  this  rate.  Maybe  after  a  couple  of  years 
more  I'll  not  have  to  change  the  mark  on  the  tree." 

"  I  should  certainly  hope  so,"  cried  Lloyd,  "  unless 
you  want  to  be  a  giant  in  a  side-show.  Heah! 
Measuah  me." 

She  stiffened  herself  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 
standing  as  erect  as  possible,  while  he  stuck  the 


OFF  TO  BOARDING-SCHOOL  2$ 

blade  of  his  knife  into  the  bark,  so  close  to  the  top 
of  her  head  that  he  almost  pinned  a  lock  of  the 
light  hair  to  the  tree. 

"  You've  grown  a  lot  too,  this  last  year,  Lloyd," 
he  said,  looking  down  at  her  approvingly. 

"  Oh,  Rob/'  she  cried,  with  a  quick,  wistful  look 
upward  into  his  face.  "  I  don't  want  to  grow  up. 
It  would  be  so  much  nicah  if  we  could  stay  children 
always." 

"  We  have  had  a  lot  of  fun  under  these  old  locusts, 
that's  a  fact,"  he  admitted,  as  he  began  cutting  the 
date  opposite  the  measurements  he  had  just  taken. 
Then  he  became  so  absorbed  in  trying  to  make  the 
figures  neatly  that  he  said  nothing  more  until  the 
task  was  done. 

Lloyd,  kneeling  on  the  rustic  bench  to  watch  him, 
was  silent  also,  and  for  a  few  minutes  the  only  sound 
in  all  the  late  afternoon  sunshine  was  the  soft  rus 
tling  of  the  leaves  overhead. 

"  If  they  could  only  stay  children  always !  "  the 
locusts  were  repeating  one  to  another.  "  Children 
always !  That  is  the  happiest  time !  "  Rob,  intent 
on  his  carving,  never  noticed  the  stirring  of  the 
leaves,  but  the  Little  Colonel,  who  in  a  vague  way 
always  seemed  to  understand  the  whisperings  of 
these  old  family  sentinels,,  looked  up  and  listened. 


24        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

As  if  she  were  one  of  them,  she  began  recalling 
with  them  the  scenes  they  had  looked  upon.  How 
long  ago  seemed  those  summer  days  when  she 
measured  up  only  to  the  first  notch.  Mom  Beck 
and  Rob's  faithful  old  nurse,  Dinah,  sat  on  the 
bench  where  she  was  now  kneeling,  and  watched  the 
two  children  that  the  locusts  were  whispering  about, 
romping  up  and  down  the  avenue.  How  well  she 
remembered  the  little  blue  shoes  she  wore,  and  the 
jingling  of  the  bells  on  the  gay  knitted  bridle,  as 
they  played  horse,  with  Fritz  barking  wildly  at  their 
heels. 

The  locusts  had  watched  them  in  all  the  playtimes 
that  lay  between  the  first  and  last  of  those  seven 
notches,  eight  it  would  be  when  Rob  had  finished; 
for  it  was  in  their  friendly  shade  they  had  rolled 
their  hoops  and  spun  their  tops  and  played  at  mar 
bles  and  made  their  kites.  Here,  too,  they  had  set 
their  target  when  he  taught  her  to  shoot  with  his 
air  rifle,  and  up  and  down  in  the  winter  holidays 
they  had  passed  with  their  skates  over  their  shoul 
ders,  with  their  sleds  dragging  after  them,  or  their 
arms  piled  high  with  Christmas  greens.  Here  they 
had  tramped,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  whistling  like 
two  boys;  here  they  had  raced  their  ponies;  here 
they  had  strolled  and  played  and  sung  together, 


OFF   TO   BOARDING-SCHOOL  2$ 

the  strong,  deep  friendship  yearly  growing  stronger 
between  them,  as  they  yearly  cut  a  higher  notch 
in  the  bark  of  the  old  measuring-tree. 

"  If  they  could  only  stay  children  always !  "  whis 
pered  the  locusts  again,  with  something  so  like 
a  sigh  in  the  refrain,  that  Lloyd  felt  the  tears 
spring  to  her  eyes,  she  scarcely  knew  why. 

"  There,"  said  Rob,  closing  his  knife  and  slipping 
it  into  his  pocket.  "  I  must  go  now." 

As  usual,  Lloyd  walked  down  to  the  gate  with 
him.  He  whistled  as  he  went,  a  musical,  rollicking 
negro  chorus,  and  she  joined  in  with  an  accom 
paniment  of  little  trills  and  calls,  in  clever  imitation 
of  a  mocking-bird.  But  just  before  they  reached 
the  gate  her  whistling  stopped.  Her  quick  eyes 
spied  a  four-leafed  clover  in  the  grass,  and  she 
sprang  forward  to  get  it. 

"  And  heah's  anothah !  "  she  cried,  triumphantly. 
"  One  for  you  too,  Rob.  That  means  good  luck 
for  both  of  us.  Put  it  in  yoah  pocket." 

Rob  took  the  little  charm  she  held  out,  with  a 
skeptical  smile,  yet  he  had  imbibed  too  great  a 
belief  in  such  omens  from  his  old  coloured  nurse 
not  to  regard  it  with  respect.  "  Thanks,"  he  said, 
"  I  have  a  safer  place  than  my  pocket.  I'll  need 
all  the  luck  this  or  anything  else  can  bring  me  in 


26         LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

my  Latin  this  year,  so  I'll  carry  it  to  every  recita 
tion."  Opening  the  back  of  his  watch  he  carefully 
smoothed  the  green  petals  and  laid  them  inside, 
then  closed  the  case  with  a  snap.  "  Now  I'm  fixed," 
he  said,  with  a  nod  of  satisfaction. 

At  the  gate  they  did  not  shake  hands,  but  parted 
as  they  had  done  so  many  times  before,  as  if  they 
expected  to  begin  their  playtime  on  the  morrow. 

"  Good-bye,  Lloyd,"  was  all  he  said,  with  a  slight 
lifting  of  his  cap  as  he  walked  away. 

"  Good-bye,  Bobby,"  she  answered.  She  stood 
for  a  moment  shading  her  eyes  from  the  sunset, 
with  the  hand  that  held  the  four-leafed  clover,  as 
she  watched  him  go  striding  down  the  road  toward 
Oaklea,  switching  with  his  tennis  racket  at  the 
asters  and  goldenrod  along  his  path.  Then  she 
went  slowly  back  to  the  house,  thinking  how  tall 
he  looked  as  he  strode  away.  As  she  passed  the 
measuring-tree  she  looked  up  at  the  old  locusts 
overhead,  and  sure  of  their  sympathy,  said,  half- 
aloud,  "  Oh,  I  wish  we  didn't  have  to  grow  up! " 


CHAPTER    II. 


LLOYDSBORO  SEMINARY  was  not  an  especially  at 
tractive  place  viewed  from  the  outside  of  the  high 
picket  fence,  which  surrounded  its  entire  domain. 
The  fence  itself  was  forbidding.  Its  tall  pickets, 
sharp-pointed  and  close  together,  seemed  to  suggest 
that  strict  rules  were  to  be  found  inside;  rules 
like  the  pickets,  too  firm  and  pointed  to  be  easily 
broken  through  or  climbed  over. 

The  building  was  old  and  weather-beaten,  but  in 
its  prime  the  school  had  been  one  of  the  best  in  the 
State,  and  many  a  woman  remembered  it  loyally 
in  after  years  when  she  had  daughters  of  her  own 
to  educate.  So  it  happened  that  some  of  the  pupils 
came  long  distances,  and  from  many  parts  of  the 
country,  to  sit  at  the  same  old  desks  their  mothers 
sat  at,  to*  study  the  same  old  lessons,  and  to  learn 
to  love  every  rock  and  tree  on  the  seminary  grounds, 
because  of  their  associations  with  all  the  warm  young 
friendships  formed  there. 

27 


28        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

A  group  of  maples  and  cedars  stood  between  the 
seminary  and  the  high  green  picket  gate  in  front, 
with  a  score  of  rustic  seats  and  wooden  swings 
scattered  about  in  their  shade.  On  the  east  an 
old  neglected  apple  orchard  sloped  away  from  the 
house,  where  during  the  first  few  weeks  of  school, 
hard  juicy  winesaps,  russets,  and  bellflowers  lay  in 
hiding  from  the  hungry  schoolgirls,  who  searched 
for  them  in  the  tall  grass,  waving  knee-deep  among 
the  trees.  On  the  other  side,  the  high  fence  sep 
arated  the  grounds  from  the  closely  clipped  lawn 
of  Clovercroft,  one  of  the  hospitable  old  homesteads 
of  the  Valley,  whose  wide  porches  and  vine-covered 
tower  made  a  charming  picture  from  the  western 
windows  of  the  seminary. 

The  opening  day  of  school  was  always  a  sort  of 
gala  occasion.  No  regular  work  could  be  done, 
for  pupils  were  continually  coming  in  on  the  various 
trains  to  be  registered  and  assigned  to  classes.  After 
chapel  exercises  the  day  pupils  were  at  liberty  to 
?o  home,  but  it  was  a  time-honoured  custom  for 
them  to  adjourn  to  the  apple  orchard,  to  hold  a 
reunion  with  all  the  last  year's  boarders  who  had 
returned. 

The  swings  and  seats  in  front  of  the  seminary 
were  left  for  the  newcomers.  Many  a  longing  glance 


A  NEW  FRIEND  2$ 

was  cast  toward  the  orchard  by  the  strangers,  who, 
Jeft  thus  inhospitably  alone>  made  shy  advances 
toward  acquaintance  among  themselves.  On  the 
morrow  they,  too,  might  be  included  in  the  friendly 
Htfl.e  groups  exchanging  confidences  with  their  heads 
close  together,  and  walking  with  their  arms  around 
each  other  under  the  gnarly  old  trees ;  but  that  they 
should  be  ignored  the  first  day  was  as  binding  as 
the  unwritten  "  laws  of  the  jungle." 

From  her  seat  in  the  swing  nearest  the  house, 
a  new  girl  watched  the  others  swarming  out  from 
chapel,  laughing  and  talking  and  calling  to  those 
ahead  to  wait.  The  primary  grades  went  racing 
through  the  warm  morning  sunshine,  down  to  their 
playhouses  by  the  spring.  The  seniors  and  juniors 
strolled  off  in  opposite  directions  in  dignified  ex- 
clusiveness,  to  different  parts  of  the  orchard.  Each 
group  as  it  passed  attracted  the  new  girl's  atten 
tion,  but  her  interest  centred  in  a  dozen  or  more 
girls  lingering  on  the  front  steps.  Their  ages 
seemed  to  range  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years.  They 
were  evidently  waiting  for  some  one. 

"  Why  don't  they  hurry  ?  "  asked  an  impatient 
voice.  "  What's  the  matter?  " 

"  The  matron  stopped  them,"  some  one  answered. 


3O        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  I  heard  her  asking  about  some  bedding  that  was 
to  be  sent  from  Locust." 

It  was  nearly  five  minutes  before  some  one  in 
terrupted  a  discussion  that  had  begun,  to  call  "  Here 
they  come ! "  Then  a  chorus  of  calls  began  most 
confusing  to  the  girl  in  the  swing,  who  did  not 
know  the  names  of  the  newcomers  who  seemed  to 
be  so  popular. 

"  I  bid  to  walk  with  the  Little  Colonel !  " 

"  Come  on,  Elizabeth  Lloyd  Lewis,  I'm  waiting 
for  you." 

"  Hurry  up,  Betty !  I've  got  something  to  tell 
you!" 

"Lloyd!  Lloyd  Sherman!  Can't  you  hear?  Is 
it  really  true  that  you  are  going  to  board  here?  " 

With  the  two  girls  in  their  midst,  trying  to 
explain  to  a  dozen  different  questioners  in  the  same 
breath,  when  and  why  they  had  become  resident 
pupils,  the  noisy  procession  moved  on.  Only  one  was 
left  behind,  a  pale-faced  child  in  spectacles,  who,  in 
spite  of  all  their  protests,  stood  looking  after  them, 
insisting  she  must  wait  for  Sue  Bell. 

As  the  others  moved  away,  the  new  girl  beckoned 
to  her  with  a  friendly  smile.  "  You're  Janie  Clung, 
aren't  you  ?  "  she  asked,  as  the  little  girl  advanced 


A   NEW  FRIEND  31 

a  few  steps,  and  then  stood  awkwardly  rubbing  one 
foot  against  the  other. 

"  You  see  I  couldn't  help  hearing  your  name. 
They  spoke  it  so  often.  I  am  Ida  Shane,  from  Clay 
County.  Won't  you  sit  here  in  the  swing  with 
me  until  the  girl  you  are  waiting  for  comes  out, 
and  tell  me  something  about  the  school?  It's  so 
hard,"  she  added,  plaintively,  "to  be  a  stranger 
in  a  place  where  everybody  else  has  so  many  friends. 
You  seem  to  know  every  one  here.  From  the  way 
they  all  begged  you  to  go  with  thenij  I  imagine 
you  must  be  very  popular." 

Much  flattered  by  this  last  remark  from  one  so 
much  older  than  herself,  Janie  climbed  into  the  seat 
in  the  swing,  opposite  the  girl  from  Clay  County, 
and  scrutinized  her  shyly. 

Ida  Shane  was  very  pretty,  she  decided.  She 
must  be  nearly  sixteen,  or  maybe  more,  for  she 
wore  her  dresses  long  and  her  hair  in  a  soft,  fluffy 
pompadour.  Then  Janie's  gaze  wandered  from  her 
hair  to  a  bewitching  little  dimple  that  came  at  the 
corner  of  Ida's  mouth  when  she  smiled,  and  she 
thought  to  herself  that  the  slow,  soft  drawl  in  which 
Ida  spoke  was  exceedingly  musical  and  ladylike. 
She  found  herself  talking  in  a  lower  tone  than  usual, 
and  quite  slowlyz  when  she  answered. 


32       LITTLE  COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  You  know,  I  think  it  is  always  best  to  be  very 
particular  in  choosing  friends  when  one  goes  to  a 
new  place,"  Ida  remarked,  in  a  confidential  tone, 
which  seemed  to  insinuate  that  Janie  could  be  safely 
chosen.  "  I  don't  want  to  take  up  with  everybody. 
That's  why  I  want  you  to  tell  me  which  are  the 
first  families  here  in  the  Valley,  and  which  are  the 
girls  whose  friendship  is  worth  while  having." 

Simple  little  Janie,  who  considered  friendship 
with  everybody  worth  having,  looked  puzzled. 

"  Well,  for  instance,  who  were  those  two  girls 
in  white  duck  dresses  whom  you  were  all  waiting 
for  so  long?  The  one  with  the  lovely  long  light 
hair  that  they  called  Lloyd  and  the  Little  Colonel? 
Now  she's  aristocratic-looking,  and  all  the  girls 
seem  to  regard  her  as  a  sort  of  leader.  Tell  me 
about  her." 

"  Oh,  that's  Lloyd  Sherman,"  answered  Janie. 
"  I  reckon  you  might  say  she  belongs  to  one  of 
the  first  families.  She  lives  in  a  perfectly  beautiful 
place  called  Locust.  The  Valley  is  named  after  some 
of  her  ancestors,  and  old  Colonel  Lloyd  is  her  grand 
father.  '  Little  Colonel '  is  just  one  of  her  nick 
names.  She's  had  everything  that  heart  could  wish, 
and  has  been  to  Europe.  When  she  came  back  she 
brought  a  magnificent  St.  Bernard  dog  with  her  that 


A  NEW  FRIEND  33 

had  been  trained  as  a  Red  Cross  war-dog  for  the 
ambulance  service  in  the  German  army.  They  called 
him  Hero,  and  he  acted  in  a  play  they  gave  here  last 
fall,  called  the  '  Rescue  of  the  Princess  Winsome.'  I 
was  one  of  the  flower  messengers  in  the  play.  Lloyd 
was  the  Princess.  She  looked  exactly  like  one  that 
night.  The  dog  saved  her  life  while  they  were  in 
Switzerland,  and  when  he  died  the  family  made 
as  much  fuss  over  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  person. 
He  was  buried  with  military  honours,  and  there  is 
0.  handsome  monument  over  his  grave.  I'll  show 
it  to  you  sometime,  when  we  walk  past  Locust." 

Janie  paused  with  a  long  breath.  It  was  more  of 
a  speech  than  she  was  accustomed  to  making,  but 
Ida  had  listened  with  such  flattering  attention  that 
it  was  easier  to  talk  to  her  than  to  any  one  whom 
she  had  ever  known. 

"  I  thought  she  was  like  that,"  remarked  Ida,  in 
an  I-told-you-so  tone.  "  I  rarely  make  mistakes 
in  people.  Now  that  other  one  they  call  Betty. 
She  has  a  sweet  face." 

"  I  should  say  she  has !  "  cried  Janie,  warmly. 
"  She's  the  dearest  girl  in  school.  Everybody  loves 
Betty  Lewis.  She  is  Mrs.  Sherman's  goddaughter, 
and  lives  at  Locust  too.  She  writes  the  loveliest 
poetry.  Why,  she  wrote  that  whole  play  of  the 


34        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Princess  Winsome,  and  every  one  thought  it  was 
wonderful.  Mr.  Sherman  had  several  copies  of  it 
printed  and  bound  in  carved  leather.  He  gave  one 
copy  to  the  seminary  library,  so  you  can  read  it 
if  you  want  to." 

"That'll  be  the  first  thing  I  shall  draw  from 
the  library,"  said  Ida,  nodding  approvingly  at  the 
account  of  Betty.  "  Then  there's  some  one  else 
I  want  to  ask  about,"  she  continued.  "  I  was  told 
that  General  Walton's  family  lives  here,  and  that 
his  daughters  go  to  this  school.  I  don't  mind  tell 
ing  you,  in  confidence,  you  know,  that  that  is  what 
made  my  aunt  finally  decide  to  send  me  to  this 
school  instead  of  the  one  in  Frankfort.  Were  they 
here  this  morning?" 

"  Yes,  and  they  are  Lloyd's  best  friends.  Maybe 
you  noticed  two  girls  in  pink,  with  great  dark  eyes, 
lovely  eyes,  who  walked  off  with  her,  one  on  each 
side." 

"  Yes,  I  wondered  who  they  were." 

"The  larger  one  was  Allison  and  the  other  one 
Kitty.  They  live  at  The  Beeches.  We  walk  past 
there  nearly  every  day.  Once,  last  year.  Miss  Edith 
took  some  of  us  in  there,  and  Mrs.  Walton  showed 
us  all  her  curios  and  relics.  It  is  a  fascinating  place 


A  NEW  FRIEND  35 

to  visit.  There  are  things  from  all  over  the  world 
in  every  room,  and  a  story  about  each  one." 

"  How  interesting ! "  smiled  Ida,  showing  a 
glimpse  of  her  dimple  and  passing  a  slim  hand, 
glittering  with  many  rings,  over  her  pompadour. 
"  You  can't  imagine  how  entertaining  you  are, 
Janie ;  tell  me  some  more." 

With  a  slight  movement  of  the  foot  she  started 
the  swing  to  swaying,  and,  leaning  back  in  the 
seat  with  an  air  of  attention,  waited  for  Janie  to 
go  on.  With  such  a  listener,  Janie  was  in  a  fair 
way  to  tell  all  she  knew,  when  Sue  Bell  appeared 
in  the  doorway  ^  beckoning  to  her.  She  even  felt 
a  decided  sense  of  annoyance  at  the  interruption, 
although  Sue  Bell  was  her  dearest  friend,  so  much 
was  she  enjoying  Ida  as  an  audience. 

"  That  new  girl  is  perfectly  lovely !  "  she  declared 
to  Sue  Bell,  as  they  moved  off  together.  She  re 
peated  the  opinion  so  often  after  she  reached  the 
orchard,  and  had  so  much  to  say  about  Ida  Shane's 
hair  and  Ida  Shane's  dimple,  and  the  stacks  of  rings 
she  had,  and  the  stylish  clothes  she  wore,  that  some 
of  the  girls  exchanged  amused  glances.  Kitty  Wal 
ton  remarked  in  a  teasing  tone  that  she  believed  the 
new  girl  must  have  hoodooed  Janie  Clung,  so  that 
she  couldn't  do  anything  but  sing  her  praises. 


36         LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"You  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  talk  that  way, 
Kitty  Walton,"  cried  Janie,  in  angry  defence  of 
her  new  friend,  "  especially  when  she  said  such 
nice  things  about  your  family  being  celebrities,  and 
that  was  one  reason  her  aunt  sent  her  to  this  school, 
because  the  daughters  of  such  a  famous  general 
were  pupils  here.  And  she  thinks  Lloyd  is  so  aris 
tocratic-looking,  and  Betty  awfully  sweet,  and  so 
smart  to  write  that  play.  And  she  said,  even  if  you 
all  are  lots  younger  than  herself,  she'd  rather  have 
you  for  her  friends  than  any  of  the  seniors,  because 
she  could  tell  just  by  looking  at  you  that  you  belong 
to  the  best  old  families  in  the  place." 

"  What  did  she  say  about  the  rest  of  us  ?  "  cried 
Mittie  Dupong,  mockingly,  winking  at  her  nearest 
neighbour. 

Janie,  turning  in  time  to  see  the  wink,  answered 
shortly,  "  Nothing.  She  doesn't  intend  to  make 
friends  with  everybody." 

It  was  an  indiscreet  speech,  and  the  moment  it 
was  made  she  realized  that  it  would  be  counted 
against  Ida,  instead  of  in  her  favour,  as  she  had 
intended  it  to  be.  Significant  glances  passed  among 
those  who  had  not  been  included  in  Ida's  classifica 
tion  of  celebrities  or  first  families,  and  Mittie  Du 
pong  retorted,  with  a  shrug  of  her  shoulders,  "  Hm ! 


A  NEW  FRIEND  37 

Miss  Shane  may  find  that  there  are  people  in  the 
world  as  particular  as  herself.  Who  is  she,  anyway, 
that  she  should  give  herself  such  airs  ?  " 

No  one  answered  the  question,  but  there  was  sown 
at  that  moment  in  more  than  one  girl's  mind  a 
little  seed  of  dislike  which  took  deep  root  as  the 
days  went  by.  But  if  Ida's  thoughtlessly  repeated 
speech  worked  her  ill  in  one  way,  it  had  an  opposite 
effect  with  those  whose  favour  she  wished  most  to 
gain.  Allison  and  Kitty  met  her  with  especial 
friendliness  when  Janie  stopped  them  at  the  swing, 
as  they  started  home  at  noon.  It  was  pleasant  for 
them  to  feel  that  she  had  been  drawn  to  the  school 
partly  on  their  account.  It  gave  them  a  sense  of 
importance  they  had  never  experienced  before. 

Lloyd,  too,  unconsciously  influenced  by  the  flatter 
ing  recollection  that  she  had  been  singled  out  from 
all  the  others  as  aristocratic-looking,  took  especial 
care  to  be  gracious  when  she  found  herself  seated 
across  from  Ida  at  the  dinner-table.  The  old  pupils 
had  been  given  their  usual  places,  but  Betty  and 
Lloyd  were  among  the  newcomers. 

"  Now  I  feel  for  the  first  time  that  I'm  really 
away  at  bo'ding-school,"  Lloyd  said,  with  a  smile, 
which  included  Ida  in  the  conversation,  as  she 
glanced  down  the  long  table,  stretched  the  entire 


38        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

length  of  the  dining-room.  "  It  seems  as  if  we 
might  be  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  home  instead 
of  one.  I  can  hardly  believe  that  we  are  still  in 
Lloydsboro  Valley.  Betty2  isn't  it  time  for  us  to 
begin  to  feel  homesick  ?  " 

"  Not  till  dark  comes,"  answered  Betty.  "  Twi 
light  is  the  regulation  time  in  boarding-school 
stories." 

Lloyd  smiled  across  at  Ida.  "  Do  you  think  you 
are  going  to  be  homesick  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  indeed ! "  answered  Ida,  in  her  slow, 
sweet  voice.  The  dimple  which  had  charmed  Janie 
flashed  into  sight.  "  This  is  the  fourth  boarding- 
school  I  have  been  sent  to.  I  am  used  to  going  to 
new  places." 

"  The  fo'th ! "  exclaimed  Lloyd,  with  surprised 
emphasis.  A  curious  "  Why  ?  "  almost  slipped  off 
her  tongue,  but  she  stopped  it  politely  in  the  middle, 
and  managed  to  stammer  instead,  as  she  salted  her 
soup,  "  Wh-what  fun  you  must  have  had !  " 

"  I  have,"  answered  Ida,  with  a  glance  toward  the 
end  of  the  table  where  Miss  Bina  McCannister  sat 
grim  and  watchful.  "  Sometime  I'll  tell  you  about 
some  of  my  adventures." 

As  the  dinner  progressed,  both  Lloyd  and  Betty 
felt  themselves  yielding  to  the  soft  charm  of  manner 


A  NEW  FRIEND  39 

which  had  won  little  Janie  Clung's  admiration,  and 
by  the  time  they  had  finished  their  dessert  they  were 
ready  to  join  in  Janie's  most  enthusiastic  praises 
of  the  new  girl. 

"  Do  you  know  that  my  room  is  in  the  same  wing 
with  yours,  just  next  door?  "  Ida  asked,  as  they  rose 
from  the  table.  "  At  least,  I  think  so,  for  as  I  came 
down  to  dinner  I  saw  some  trunks  being  carried 
in  there,  marked  E.  L.  L.  and  L.  S." 

"  I  am  so  glad !  "  exclaimed  Lloyd.  "  I  wondered 
who  we  should  have  for  neighbahs.  Betty  and  I 
ran  up  there  a  few  minutes  this  mawning,  but  the 
beds  and  things  mothah  wanted  us  to  use  hadn't 
been  sent  ovah  from  Locust,  and  it  was  so  topsy 
turvy  we  didn't  stay." 

"  I  came  yesterday,"  said  Ida,  as  the  three  went 
up  the  stairs  together,  "  so  I've  had  time  to  investi 
gate.  I  imagine  we  shall  be  able  to  do  about  as 
we  please.  You  see,  this  wing  of  the  house  was 
added  several  years  after  the  main  part  was  built, 
so  there  are  four  rooms  on  this  floor,  nicely  cut  off 
by  themselves." 

She  opened  the  door  from  the  main  corridor,  and 
led  the  way  into  the  narrow  side-hall  which  sep 
arated  the  four  rooms  from  the  rest  of  the  house. 

"  Several  nights  in  the  week  the  three  of  us 


4O        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

will  be  here  alone,"  she  said.  "  This  tiny  room 
at  the  end  belongs  to  that  queer  little  Magnolia 
Budine  whom  everybody  laughed  at  this  morning. 
She  lives  near  enough  the  seminary  to  go  home 
every  Friday  night  and  stay  till  Monday  morning. 
The  three  Clark  sisters  have  this  big  room  next  to 
hers,  and  they  go  home  to  spend  Sundays,  too. 
By  the  way,  wasn't  it  ridiculous  the  way  Miss 
McCannister  got  their  names  all  balled  up  this  morn 
ing  in  the  history  division,  trying  to  say  Carrie 
Clark,  Clara  Clark,  Cora  Clark?" 

"  It  was  funny,"  laughed  Lloyd.  "  Kitty  Walton 
whispered  to  me  that  they  ought  to  be  called  the 
triplets,  because  every  one  trips  and  stuttahs  ovah 
their  names.  It's  as  bad  as  trying  to  say  '  Six  slim, 
slick,  silvah  saplings.' ' 

They  had  reached  the  third  room  by  this  time, 
the  door  of  which  stood  open.  "  This  is  ours," 
said  Lloyd.  "  The  very  same  one  mothah  had  one 
term  when  she  was  a  girl." 

She  paused  on  the  threshold,  looking  around  the 
large,  airy  apartment,  well  pleased. 

"  I  wonder  if  the  outside  stairway  was  built  when 
she  was  here,"  said  Ida.  "  I  discovered  it  yester 
day." 


A   NEW  FRIEND  4! 

"  I  nevah  heard  her  say  anything  about  it,"  said 
Lloyd.  "Where  is  it?" 

"  This  way,"  answered  Ida,  leading  them  past 
her  own  room,  which  came  next,  and  pushing  aside 
a  heavy  portiere  which  covered  a  door  at  the  oppo 
site  end  of  the  hall  from  Magnolia  Budine's  room. 

"  The  matron  told  me  that  a  slight  fire  in  the 
school,  one  time,  led  to  the  building,  of  this  extra 
means  of  escape,  but  the  girls  are  forbidden  to  use 
the  stairs  for  any  other  purpose." 

"  Let's  open  it,"  proposed  Lloyd,  daringly,  fum 
bling  with  the  bolt,  which  had  lain  so  long  unused 
that  it  had  rusted  in  its  socket.  It  moved  stiffly 
with  a  grating  sound  as  she  pushed  it  back.  The 
door  swung  open  on  to  a  small2  uncovered  landing, 
from  which  an  open  staircase  descended  to  the  rear 
of  the  kitchen. 

"  I've  often  seen  these  steps  from  the  outside," 
said  Lloyd,  "  but  I  didn't  know  where  they  led  to. 
No,  I  nevah  heard  mothah  speak  of  them.  Isn't  it 
fun  to  have  a  secret  stairway  of  our  own!  Why 
do  you  suppose  they  have  a  curtain  ovah  the  doah  ?  " 

"To  hide  it,"  said  Betty,  wisely,  "  so  that  the 
daily  sight  of  it  will  not  put  it  into  our  naughty 
heads  to  make  use  of  it,  and  prowl  around  at  nights. 
They  evidently  think  *  How  oft  the  sight  of  means 


42         LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

to  do  ill  deeds  makes  ill  deeds  done.'  So  they  cover 
it  up." 

"That's  from  Shakespeare,  isn't  it?"  asked  Ida. 
"  I'd  give  anything  if  I  could  make  appropriate 
quotations  like  that,  but  I  never  think  of  the  right 
thing  till  it's  too  late.  But  then,  I  suppose  it  comes 
easy  to  any  one  smart  enough  to  write  as  yon  do. 
I  am  so  anxious  to  read  that  play  of  yours,  '  The 
Rescue  of  the  Princess  Winsome.'  I  was  told  that 
there  is  a  copy  in  the  library.  Your  room  ought  to 
be  called  '  Sweet  Peas,'  since  it  belongs  to  a  princess 
and  a  poetess." 

Betty  blushed  with  pleasure.  They  had  bolted 
the  door  again  and  were  standing  in  front  of  their 
room,  as  Ida  proposed  the  name  of  Sweet  Peas. 

"  It  is  kind  of  you  to  give  us  such  a  sweet  name 
for  our  room,"  said  Lloyd.  "  Will  you  come  in 
while  we  unpack  ?  " 

"  No,  thank  you,"  was  the  answer.  "  I  have  some 
letters  to  write  before  four  o'clock.  That  is  the 
time,  I  believe,  when  we  all  have  to  turn  out  to 
gether  for  a  walk."  She  turned  away,  but  came 
back  to  ask,  hesitatingly,  "  There's  one  thing  I'd 
like  to  ask,  Lloyd ;  do  you  mind  if  I  call  you  Prin 
cess  instead  of  Lloyd?  The  Princess  Winsome? 
That  name  seems  to  suit  you  so  well.  The  first 


A  NEW  FRIEND  43 

thing1  I  noticed  about  you  was  the  proud  little  way 
you  lift  your  head.  You  carry  yourself  like  one." 

A  bright  colour  swept  across  Lloyd's  face.  "  Of 
co'se  I  don't  mind/'  she  said,  "  and  it  is  deah  of  you 
to  care  to  call  me  that." 

When  Ida  went  back  to  her  own  room,  it  was  with 
the  comfortable  feeling  that  she  had  left  a  very 
agreeable  impression  behind  her. 

"  Isn't  she  a  darling !  "  exclaimed  Lloyd,  enthu 
siastically,  when  she  and  Betty  were  alone,  with 
their  door  closed.  "  She  is  pretty  and  stylish,  and 
certainly  has  lovely  mannahs.  Besides,  she  is  as 
sma'ht  as  can  be,  and  mighty  entahtaining.  I've 
taken  a  great  fancy  to  her." 

"So  have  I,"  admitted  Betty.  "I  love  to  sit 
and  watch  her.  The  least  thing  she  says  in  that 
soft,  slow  way  sounds  sweet.  I  am  so  glad  that 
her  room  is  next  to  ours." 

Mrs.  Sherman  had  advised  taking  few  furnishings 
to  the  seminary,  but  Lloyd  insisted  that  they  could 
not  feel  that  they  were  really  away  at  boarding- 
school  unless  they  had  all  that  goes  to  equip  a  modern 
college  girl's  room.  So  pictures  and  posters,  sofa- 
pillows  and  book-racks  were  crowded  into  the  over 
flowing  trunks.  A  chafing-dish,  a  well-furnished 
tea-basket,  a  dainty  chocolate-pot,  and  a  mandolin 


44        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

were  brought  over  in  the  carriage  that  took  Mrs. 
Sherman  to  the  depot.  Both  girls  were  kept  busy 
until  four  o'clock,  finding  places  to  put  their  numer 
ous  possessions.  Neither  one  realized  how  far  she 
had  passed  under  the  spell  of  the  new  pupil,  but 
unconsciously  every  picture  they  hung  and  every 
article  they  unpacked  was  located  with  a  thought 
of  her  approval. 

Once  as  Lloyd  passed  the  mirror,  when  Betty's 
back  was  turned,  she  paused  to  look  at  her  reflection 
with  the  pleased  consciousness  that  Ida  had  spoken 
the  truth;  that  she  did  hold  her  head  proudly  and 
carry  herself  well.  And  Betty  several  times  passed 
her  hand  up  over  the  brown  curls  on  her  forehead, 
recalling  the  graceful  gesture  of  the  white,  heavily 
ringed  hand.  While  she  tacked  up  posters  and  put 
away  clothes,  she  chattered  busily  with  Lloyd,  but 
through  her  thoughts,  like  an  undercurrent  to  their 
conversation,  ran  a  few  musical  lines  suggested  by 
the  white  hands  and  low  voice.  An  "  Ode  to  Ida  " 
had  already  begun  to  weave  itself  into  shape  in  her 
busy  little  brain. 

A  few  minutes  before  the  gong  sounded,  sum 
moning  the  girls  to  the  first  of  their  daily  walks, 
Ida  tapped  on  the  door.  She  had  only  stopped  to 
ask  a  question  about  the  rules,  she  said,  and  must 


A  NEW  FRIEND  45 

run  back  and  put  on  her  hat;  but  catching  sight 
of  a  picture  of  the  long  avenue  at  Locust,  which 
hung  over  Lloyd's  bed,  she  crossed  the  room  to 
examine  it. 

"  You've  made  a  perfect  love  of  a  room  with  all 
these  handsome  things,"  she  said,  looking  around 
admiringly.  "  But  "  —  she  scanned  the  few  pho 
tographs  on  the  mantel,  and  the  two  on  the  dress 
ing-table  in  their  frames  of  beaten  silver  —  "  it  seems 
so  queer,  you  know.  You  haven't  the  picture  of 
a  single  boy.  Didn't  you  bring  any  ?  " 

"No!"  answered  Lloyd,  in  surprise.  "Why 
should  I?" 

"But  you  have  some  at  home,  haven't  you?" 
persisted  Ida. 

"  Yes,  I  have  lovely  ones  of  Allison  Walton's 
cousins,  Malcolm  and  Keith  Maclntyre,  taken  in 
the  costumes  they  wore  as  '  two  little  knights  of 
Kentucky.'  And  I  have  one  of  Ranald  Walton 
taken  in  his  captain's  uniform,  and  nearly  a  dozen 
of  Rob  Moore.  He's  given  me  one  whenevah  he's 
had  them  taken,  from  the  time  he  wore  kilts  and 
curls." 

"  My  dear! "  exclaimed  Ida.  "  Why  didn't  you 
bring  them?  They  would  have  been  such  an  addi 
tion." 


46        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  Because  I  don't  want  any  boy's  pictuah  stuck 
up  on  my  dressing-table.  I  like  to  have  them,  be 
cause  they've  been  my  playmates  always,  and  when 
we're  grown  up  I'd  like  to  remembah  just  how 
they  looked,  but  that's  no  reason  I  want  my  walls 
plastahed  with  them  now." 

"  What  an  original  little  thing  you  are,  Princess," 
exclaimed  Ida,  with  a  laugh,  which  would  have 
nettled  Lloyd  had  not  the  compliment  and  the  title 
taken  away  its  sting.  "  Come  into  my  room  and 
see  how  my  walls  are  plastered,  as  you  call  it." 

Lloyd  stared  around  in  astonishment  when  Ida 
threw  open  her  door.  Boyish  faces  looked  back  at 
her  from  every  side.  Handsome  ones,  homely  ones, 
in  groups,  in  pairs,  framed  and  unframed,  strung 
together  with  ribbons,  or  stuck  in  behind  Japanese 
fans.  Added  to  all  the  other  pictures  of  girls  she 
had  known  in  the  three  boarding-schools  which  she 
had  attended,  it  gave  the  room  the  appearance  of 
a  photograph  gallery. 

"  Well !  "  exclaimed  Lloyd,  at  length,  after  a  long, 
slow  survey,  "  I  don't  see  what  you  want  them  for." 
Unconsciously  her  head  took  the  haughty  uplift 
which  Ida  had  admired. 

"  For  the  same  reason  that  an  Indian  hangs  up 
all  the  scalp-locks  he  takes,  I  suppose,"  drawled 


A   NEW  FRIEND  47 

Ida,  sweetly.  "  Of  course,  you're  young  yet.  You 
don't  understand.  But  you'll  look  at  things  differ 
ently  when  you  are  as  near  '  sweet  sixteen '  as  I 
am,  Princess." 

Again  that  flattering  title  took  the  sting  out  of 
the  patronizing  manner  which  Lloyd  otherwise 
would  have  resented.  Was  it  only  the  afternoon 
before,  she  wondered,  that  she  had  cried  out  to  the 
friendly  old  locusts  her  longing  to  be  a  child  always  ? 

As  Ida  crossed  the  room  with  a  graceful  sweep 
of  long  skirts,  and  settled  her  hat  with  its  clusters 
of  violets  jauntily  over  her  fluffy  pompadour,  there 
stole  into  the  Little  Colonel's  heart,  for  the  first 
time,  a  vague  desire;  a  half-defined  wish  that  she, 
too,  were  as  near  the  borders  of  grown-up  land  as 
"  sweet  sixteen." 


CHAPTER    III. 
IDA'S  SECRET 

"  BETTY/'  said  Lloyd,  one  morning,  the  third 
week  of  school,  as  she  sat  on  the  edge  of  her  bed 
lacing  her  shoes,  "  you  know  that  little  glove-case 
you  embroidered  for  my  birthday  present;  would 
you  feel  hurt  if  I  were  to  give  it  away?" 

"  No,"  answered  Betty,  slowly,  turning  from  the 
mirror,  brush  in  hand.  "  I  made  it  to  please  you, 
and  if  you  can  find  more  pleasure  in  giving  it  away 
than  in  keeping  it,  I'd  be  glad  for  you  to  give 
it  away." 

"Honestly,  Betty?" 

"  Yes,  honestly."  The  brown  eyes  turned  with 
truthful  directness  toward  Lloyd. 

"  Oh,  you  are  such  a  comfortable  sort  of  person  to 
live  with,  Betty  Lewis,"  exclaimed  the  Little  Colonel, 
with  a  sigh  of  relief.  "  Most  girls  would  think  that 
I  didn't  appreciate  all  those  fine  stitches  you  put  into 
it,  and  didn't  care  for  eithah  the  gift  or  the  givah 
if  I  was  willing  to  part  with  it;  but  I  was  suah 

48 


/DA'S  SECRET  49 

you  would  undahstand.  You  see,  the  violets  on  it 
make  it  such  a  perfect  match  for  everything  on  Ida's 
dressing-table,  that  it  seems  as  if  it  ought  to  belong 
to  her.  I  can't  look  at  a  violet  now  without  think 
ing  of  her.  She  is  so  much  like  one,  don't  you 
think?  Refined  and  sweet,  and  her  eyes  are  such 
a  dark  blue,  and  have  such  a  shy,  appealing  way 
of  looking  out  from  undah  those  long  lashes.  And 
have  you  evah  noticed  what  delicious  sachet  she 
uses?  So  faint  it's  not  much  moah  than  the  whis- 
pah  of  a  smell,  but  there's  always  a  touch  of  it 
about  everything  belonging  to  her.  I  call  her  Violet 
all  the  time  now." 

Only  the  mirror  saw  the  bored  expression  that 
shaded  Betty's  face  for  an  instant.  For  the  last 
week,  morning,  noon,  and  night,  she  had  heard 
nothing  from  Lloyd  but  Ida's  praises.  A  sudden 
intimacy  had  sprung  up  between  the  two  which 
threatened  to  eclipse  all  Lloyd's  other  friendships. 
Betty  began  brushing  her  hair  vigorously.  "  Will 
you  promise  not  to  feel  hurt  if  I  give  you  a  piece 
of  advice?"  she  asked. 

Lloyd  nodded,  lazily  wondering  what  was  coming, 
as  she  reached  down  to  pick  up  her  other  shoe.  She 
did  not  put  it  on,  however,  but  sat  with  it  in  her 
hand,  staring  at  Betty,  scarcely  believing  that  she 


50        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

heard  aright,  the  advice  was  so  different  from  any 
thing  she  had  expected. 

"  Then  don't  call  her  Violet  before  the  other  girls. 
And  if  I  were  in  your  place  I  don't  believe  I'd 
talk  about  her  to  them,  quite  as  much  as  you  do. 
You  see,"  she  hurried  on,  noticing  the  quick  flush 
of  displeasure  on  Lloyd's  face,  "  I  don't  suppose 
you  realize  how  much  you  do  talk  about  her,  or 
how  you  have  changed  lately.  Last  year  you  were 
good  friends  with  all  the  girls,  ready  for  any  fun 
they  proposed.  They  liked  that  independent,  bossy 
little  way  you  had  of  deciding  things  for  them.  That 
was  one  thing  that  made  you  so  popular.  But  now 
you  always  wait  to  find  out  what  Ida  thinks,  and 
what  Ida  wants,  and  they  feel  that  you've  not  only 
dropped  your  old  friends  for  a  stranger  whom  you've 
known  only  three  weeks,  but  that  in  some  sort  of  a 
way  —  I  can't  explain  it  —  you've  dropped  your 
old  self  too.  Really,  I  believe  that  they  are  as  jealous 
of  the  influence  she  has  over  you,  as  of  the  way 
she  monopolizes  you." 

Betty  did  not  see  the  gathering  storm  in  the 
Little  Colonel's  face,  and  went  serenely  on  brushing 
her  hair.  "  You  know  she's  so  much  older  than 
you.  They  always  smile  so  significantly  when  she 
calls  you  Princess,  as  if  they  thought  she  was  doing 


IDA'S  SECRET  5  I 

it  to  flatter  you.  While  they  wouldn't  say  it  openly 
to  me,  of  course,  I've  heard  them  whispering  among 
themselves  that  Ida  had  hoodooed  you  as  she  had 
Janie  Clung,  so  that  all  you  live  for  nowadays  is 
to  wait  on  her  and  buy  her  candy  and  violets." 

Bang!  went  Lloyd's  shoe  against  the  wall.  She 
had  sent  it  spinning  across  the  room  with  all  her 
force.  Betty,  turning  in  dismay,  saw  that  the  advice 
which  she  had  given  with  the  kindest  of  motives, 
had  aroused  the  Little  Colonel's  temper  to  white 
heat. 

"  The  mean,  hateful  things ! "  she  cried. 
"  They've  no  right  to  talk  about  Ida  that  way ! 
The  idea  of  her  stooping  to  such  a  thing  as  to 
flatter  any  one  for  what  she  could  get  out  of  them ! 
It's  an  outrageous  —  " 

"  But  Lloyd,  dear,"  interrupted  Betty.  "  Listen 
a  minute.  You  promised  that  you  wouldn't  get 
mad,  or  I  wouldn't  have  said  a  word." 

"  I'm  not  mad  with  you,  but  Mittie  Dupong  and 
some  of  the  rest  of  them  have  been  hateful  to  Ida 
from  the  very  first."  There  was  something  like 
a  sob  in  her  voice.  "  And  she's  so  alone  in  the 
world,  too.  She's  told  me  things  about  her  life 
that  almost  made  me  cry.  Her  aunt  doesn't  undah- 
stand  her  at  all,  and  she  has  a  misa'ble  time  at  home." 


52         LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  But  she  needn't  feel  alone  in  the  world  here," 
insisted  Betty.  "  Every  girl  in  school  would  have 
been  her  friend,  if  she  hadn't  said  at  the  start  that 
she  didn't  care  for  anybody  but  us  and  the  Walton 
girls.  They'd  be  only  too  glad  to  take  her  in,  even 
now,  for  the  sake  of  having  you  back  again.  Oh, 
it  was  so  much  nicer  last  year." 

Lloyd  faced  her  indignantly.  "  Betty  Lewis !  " 
5he  exclaimed.  "  You're  against  her  too,  or  you 
wouldn't  say  that." 

"  No,  I'm  not,"  insisted  Betty.  "  I  like  her  now 
just  as  much  as  I  did  the  first  day  I  saw  her.  I 
think  she  is  sweet  and  lovable,  and  I  don't  wonder 
that  you  are  very  fond  of  her ;  but  I  must  say  that 
I'm  sorry  that  she's  in  the  school,  for  you  don't  seem 
to  care  for  anything  now  but  being  with  her,  and 
that  spoils  all  the  good  times  we  had  planned  to 
have." 

Dead  silence  followed  Betty's  speech.  The  Little 
Colonel  walked  across  the  room,  picked  up  her  shoe 
and  put  it  on,  jerking  the  laces  savagely.  It  was  the 
first  time  that  she  had  ever  been  angry  with  Betty, 
and  her  wrath  was  more  than  Betty  could  endure. 

"  Please  don't  feel  hurt,  Lloyd,"  she  begged.  "  I 
can't  bear  to  have  you  angry  with  me.  I  wouldn't 
have  said  a  word,  only  I  thought  that  if  it  was 


IDA'S  SECRET  53 

explained  to  you  how  we  all  felt,  you'd  be  will 
ing  to  spend  a  little  more  time  with  the  others, 
and  gradually  they'd  get  interested  in  Ida  and  be 
nice  to  her  for  your  sake,  and  things  would  go  on 
as  they  used  to,  when  we  all  had  such  good  times 
together." 

Again  the  painful  silence,  so  deep  that  Betty 
felt  as  if  a  wall  had  risen  between  them. 

"  Please,  Lloyd,"  she  begged,  with  tears  in  her 
eyes.  But  Lloyd,  with  an  air  of  injured  dignity, 
went  on  dressing,  without  a  word,  until  the  last 
bow  was  tied,  and  the  last  pin  in  place. 

"  And  she  knew  all  the  time  that  Ida  is  my  dearest 
friend,"  Lloyd  kept  saying  angrily  to  herself,  as 
she  moved  about  the  room.  "  I  could  have  for 
given  her  saying  mean  things  about  me,  but  for  her 
to  stand  up  and  say  to  my  very  face  that  she  is 
sorry  Ida  is  in  the  school,  and  that  her  being  here 
spoils  all  the  good  times,  when  she  knows  what 
I  think  of  Ida,  that  is  simply  a  plain  insult;  and  I 
can  nevah  feel  the  same  to  Betty  Lewis  again ! " 

By  the  time  the  breakfast-bell  rang,  both  the  girls 
were  almost  in  tears ;  for  the  longer  Betty's  speech 
rankled  in  Lloyd's  mind  the  worse  it  hurt,  and 
the  longer  the  angry  silence  continued  the  worse 
Betty  felt 


54         LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  It  is  not  like  Lloyd  to  be  so  unfair,"  thought 
Betty.  "  She's  just  so  blinded  by  her  infatuation 
for  Ida  that  she  can't  see  my  side  of  the  matter  at 
all." 

It  was  on  the  point  of  her  tongue  to  speak  her 
thought,  but  realizing  that  it  would  only  add  fuel 
to  the  flame,  she  checked  the  impulse,  and  in  the 
same  uncomfortable  silence  they  marched  stiffly 
down  the  stairs  to  breakfast. 

It  was  a  miserable  day  for  both.  To  peace-loving 
Betty  it  seemed  endless.  She  could  hardly  keep 
the  tears  back  when  she  stood  up  to  recite,  and 
instead  of  joining  the  other  girls  at  recess  she  wan 
dered  off  with  a  pencil  and  note-book.  Sitting  in 
one  of  the  swings  she  wrote  some  verses  about 
broken  friendships  that  made  her  cry.  They  began : 

"Dead  are  the  snowy  daisies! 

Dead  are  the  flowers  of  May! 

The  winds  are  hoarse  and  voiceless, 

The  skies  are  cold  and  gray ! " 

And  yet  a  more  gloriously  golden  October  day  had 
never  shone  in  the  Valley.  The  sun  on  the  sumach 
bushes  and  sweet  gum-trees  turned  their  leaves  to 
a  flaming  red  that  the  heart  of  a  ruby  might  have 
envied,  and  the  dogwood  berries,  redder  than  any 


IDA'S  SECRET  55 

rose,  glowed  like  living  fire  in  the  depths  of  the 
woods. 

For  the  last  week  Lloyd  and  Ida  had  spent  every 
recess  together,  wandering  off  by  themselves  to 
a  far  corner  of  the  apple  orchard,  where  the  trunk 
of  a  fallen  tree  provided  them  with  a  seat,  and  its 
twisted  branches  with  a  rustic  screen;  but  this  day 
when  Lloyd  needed  sympathy  and  companionship 
more  than  on  any  other,  it  was  suddenly  denied  her. 

Ida  had  a  worried,  absent-minded  air  when  she 
came  out  at  recess  after  the  distribution  of  the 
morning  mail.  She  came  up  to  Lloyd  in  the  hall 
with  a  grave  face.  "  I  am  in  trouble,  Princess,"  she 
said,  in  a  low  tone.  "  I'll  explain  sometime  before 
long,  but  I  must  go  to  my  room  now.  I  have  an 
important  letter  to  write/' 

With  heavy  forebodings  Lloyd  wandered  back  to 
her  desk  and  sat  looking  listlessly  out  of  the  open 
window.  She  could  hear  laughter  and  merry  voices 
in  conversation  outside.  Nuts  rattled  down  from 
the  old  hickory-tree  by  the  well,  and  an  odour  of 
wild  grapes  floated  in  from  the  vine  that  trailed 
over  it,  where  some  belated  bunches  hung  too  high 
for  any  fingers  but  the  frost's  to  touch.  She  took 
no  interest  in  anything. 

The  afternoon  recess  passed  in  the  same  way. 


56        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Miss  Bina  McCannister  led  the  procession  when  they 
went  for  their  afternoon  walk.  Ida  had  been  ex 
cused  from  joining  them,  so  Lloyd  walked  beside 
Janie  Clung,  in  stony  silence.  Betty  was  in  front 
of  them,  and  Lloyd,  almost  stepping  on  her  heels, 
could  think  of  nothing  but  the  remark  that  had 
changed  her  whole  day  to  gall  and  wormwood. 
She  resented  it  doubly,  now  that  poor  Ida  was  in 
some  mysterious  trouble. 

Betty  occasionally  cast  an  anxious  glance  back 
ward.  "  She'll  surely  make  up  before  the  sun  goes 
down,"  she  thought.  But  the  sun  went  down  as 
they  strolled  homeward,  the  moon  came  up,  and 
lights  twinkled  from  all  the  seminary  windows. 
The  supper-bell  rang,  and  a  horde  of  hungry  girls 
poured  into  the  dining-room,  but  through  all  the 
cheerful  clatter  of  dishes  and  hum  of  voices,  Lloyd 
kept  her  dignified  silence  toward  Betty  unbroken. 
Ida  had  evidently  been  crying,  and  had  little  to  say. 
She  left  the  table  before  the  others  were  through. 

When  Betty  went  to  her  room  for  the  study  hour, 
she  found  Lloyd  sitting  with  her  elbows  on  the 
table  before  the  lamp,  seemingly  so  absorbed  in 
her  history  lesson  that  she  did  not  notice  the  open 
ing  of  the  door.  With  a  sigh  Betty  sank  into 
a  chair  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  and  drew 


IDA'S  SECRET  57 

her  arithmetic  toward  her,  but  she  could  not  fix  her 
mind  on  the  next  day's  problems.  She  was  rehears 
ing  a  dozen  different  ways  in  which  to  open  a  con 
versation,  and  trying  to  screw  her  courage  to  the 
point  of  beginning. 

While  she  hesitated  there  was  a  slight  tap  at  the 
door  and  Miss  Edith  looked  in.  It  was  her  evening 
to  make  the  round  of  inspection.  Seeing  both  girls 
apparently  absorbed  in  their  books,  she  closed  the 
door  and  passed  on.  Five  minutes  went  by,  in 
which  Betty  kept  glancing  at  Lloyd,  almost  on  the 
point  of  speaking.  There  was  another  tap  at  the 
door,  and  before  either  could  call  Come,  Ida  opened 
it  and  beckoned.  With  an  answering  nod  as  if 
she  understood,  Lloyd  gathered  up  her  books  and 
joined  her  in  the  hall.  There  was  a  whispered 
consultation,  then  Betty  heard  them  go  into  Ida's 
room  and  close  the  door. 

Feeling  that  the  breach  between  them  was  grow 
ing  wider  every  hour,  and  that  Lloyd  never  intended 
to  be  friendly  with  her  again,  Betty  laid  her  head 
down  on  her  arms  and  began  to  cry.  Not  since 
she  had  lain  ill  and  neglected  in  the  bare  little 
room  at  the  Cuckoo's  Nest,  the  time  she  had  the 
fever,  had  she  felt  so  miserable  and  lonely.  Not 
once  in  all  the  time  since  she  had  been  at  Locust 


58         LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

had  she  cried  like  that,  with  choking  sobs  that  shook 
her  whole  body,  and  seemed  to  come  from  the  depths 
of  her  poor  little  aching  heart. 

She  was  crying  so  bitterly  that  she  did  not  hear 
Ida's  door  open  again  or  light  footsteps  go  cautiously 
down  to  the  end  of  the  hall.  Somebody  slowly  and 
carefully  slipped  back  the  bolt  that  barred  the  door 
leading  to  the  outside  stairway.  Then  the  knob 
turned,  and  two  muffled  figures  stood  outside  in  the 
moonlight. 

"  Hurry !  "  whispered  Ida,  catching  Lloyd  by  the 
hand.  Like  two  shadows  they  tiptoed  down  the 
stairs  and  across  a  little  open  space  in  the  rear  of 
the  kitchen,  till  they  reached  the  cover  of  heavier 
shadows,  under  the  protecting  trees.  Then  they 
ran  on  as  if  pursued,  keeping  close  to  the  high  picket 
fence. 

Down  in  the  old  apple  orchard,  in  the  far  corner 
where  the  fallen  tree  lay,  they  stopped  at  last,  and 
Ida  dropped  breathlessly  to  a  seat  on  the  log,  and 
leaned  back  among  the  twisted  branches. 

"'There !  "  she  exclaimed,  throwing  off  the  heavy 
golf-cape  in  which  she  had  muffled  herself.  "  Now 
I  can  breathe.  Oh,  I've  been  so  upset  all  day,  Prin 
cess.  I  felt  as  if  I  should  choke  if  I  stayed  in  that 
old  building  another  minute.  Besides,  walls  do 


IDA'S  SECRET  59 

have  ears  sometimes,  and  I  wouldn't  have  anybody 
find  out  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you  for  worlds! 
It  would  get  me  into  no  end  of  trouble,  and  aunt 
would  take  me  out  of  school  again." 

She  paused  a  moment,  and  Lloyd,  waiting  expect 
antly,  felt  the  witchery  of  the  moonlighted  night 
stealing  over  her.  She  had  been  Ida's  confidante 
often  of  late.  She  knew  the  history  of  each  friend 
ship  represented  by  each  boy's  photograph  in  Ida's 
collection,  and  she  had  found  them  all  interesting, 
even  when  told  in  prosaic  daylight.  Beyond  the 
shadowy  old  orchard  a  row  of  yellow-leaved  maples 
gleamed  a  ghostly  silver  in  the  moonlight,  and  from 
the  direction  of  Clovercroft  stole  the  music  of  a 
violin.  Some  one  was  playing  Schubert's  Serenade. 
It  stirred  her  strangely. 

"  Will  you  promise  that  you'll  never  tell  a  living, 
breathing  soul  ?  "  asked  Ida,  finally,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Of  co'se  I  wouldn't  tell,"  said  Lloyd.  "  You 
know  that  perfectly  well,  Violet." 

"  Well,  I'm  engaged." 

"You're  what?"  exclaimed  Lloyd,  with  such  a 
start  of  astonishment  that  she  nearly  slipped  off 
the  log. 

"  Sh !  "  whispered  Ida.  "  Somebody'll  hear  us  if 
you  talk  so  loud." 


6O        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Feeling  as  if  a  chapter  of  some  thrilling  romance 
had  suddenly  opened  before  her,  Lloyd  sat  up 
straight,  waiting  for  the  heroine  to  speak  again. 
The  moonlight  gave  Ida's  face  an  almost  unearthly 
whiteness,  and  there  were  dark  shadows  under  her 
eyes.  She  had  been  crying. 

"  Aunt  never  wanted  me  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  Edwardo,"  she  began?  in  a  low  tone.  "  That 
isn't  his  real  name,  but  I  always  call  him  that.  She 
took  me  out  of  the  Lexington  school  because  he 
lived  near  there.  She  thought  that  sending  me 
down  here  would  put  an  end  to  our  correspondence, 
but  it  didn't,  of  course.  We  kept  on  corresponding, 
just  the  same.  Some  way  she  has  found  it  out. 
She  doesn't  know  that  we  are  engaged.  I  don't 
know  what  she  would  be  tempted  to  do  if  she  knew. 
She  is  angry  enough  just  about  the  letters.  I  had 
one  from  her  this  morning,  and  I  saw  one  on  the 
table  addressed  to  President  Wells,  in  her  hand 
writing.  There  is  no  mistaking  it.  I  am  sure  she 
has  written  to  him  to  watch  my  mail  and  intercept 
his  letters.  I  wouldn't  have  her  get  hold  of  them 
for  anything,  because  she  scorns  anything  like  sen 
timent.  She  seems  to  think  it  is  something  wicked 
for  young  people  to  care  for  each  other,  and  Ed- 


"SHE    TURNED    HER    WHITE    FINGERS    IN    THE    MOONLIGHT." 


IDA'S  SECRET  6 1 

wardo's  letters  simply  breathe  devotion  in  every 
word." 

The  faint  strains  of  the  distant  violin  swelled 
louder  as  Ida  held  out  her  hand  from  which  she 
had  taken  all  the  rings  but  one.  She  turned  her 
white  fingers  in  the  moonlight,  to  show  the  glimmer 
of  a  pearl. 

"  He  has  told  me  so  many  times  that  that  is  what 
my  life  seems  like  to  him,"  she  said,  with  a  sob 
in  her  voice,  "  —  a  pearl.  I  know  he  has  been 
awfully  wild  and  fast,  but  when  he  tells  me  that 
only  my  influence  over  him  can  make  him  the  man 
I  want  him  to  be,  and  that  if  it  were  not  for  my 
love  and  prayers  he  wouldn't  care  what  became  of 
him,  or  what  he  did,  do  you  blame  me  for  disre 
garding  aunt's  wishes?  Don't  you  think  it  is  cruel 
of  her  to  interfere?  " 

Lloyd,  listening  with  breathless  interest  to  the 
friend  whom  she  loved  with  all  a  little  girl's  adoring 
enthusiasm  for  an  older  one  whom  she  has  taken 
as  her  model,  gave  a  passionate  assent. 

"  Oh,  I  knew  you'd  feel  that  way  about  it,"  said 
Ida,  reaching  out  to  clasp  Lloyd's  hand  with  the 
white  one  on  which  glimmered  the  pearl.  "  It  is 
so  good  to  have  some  one  to  talk  to  who  can  under 
stand  and  sympathize." 


62        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

An  eloquent  silence  fell  between  them,  broken 
only  by  the  rustle  of  the  dead  leaves  and  the  wailing 
voice  of  the  violin,  repeating  its  plaintive  refrain 
like  a  human  cry.  The  music  and  the  witchery 
of  the  moonlight  laid  an  ever-deepening  spell  on 
the  listening  child,  till  she  felt  that  she  was  part 
of  some  old  tale  in  which  Ida  was  the  ladye  fair, 
and  Edwardo  the  most  interesting  of  heroes,  held 
apart  by  a  cruel  fate.  She  drank  in  every  word 
eagerly,  seeing  in  her  imagination  a  tall,  handsome 
man  with  a  haughty,  dark  face,  who  stood  with 
outstretched  hands,  murmuring,  "  Oh,  my  Pearl, 
you  can  make  of  my  life  what  you  will !  " 

When  Ida  took  a  tiny  locket  from  a  chain  around 
her  neck  and  opened  it  to  show  her  his  picture, 
Lloyd  felt  a  distinct  twinge  of  disappointment.  It 
was  not  at  all  like  the  face  she  had  pictured.  But 
Ida  explained  that  it  was  not  a  good  likeness,  only 
a  head  cut  from  a  group  picture  in  which  he  had 
been  taken  with  the  members  of  his  football  team. 
She  had  a  fine  photograph  of  him  in  her  trunk, 
but  had  to  keep  it  hidden,  not  knowing  what  day 
her  aunt  might  swoop  down  upon  her  for  a  visit 
of  inspection. 

"  Seems  to  me  as  if  I  had  seen  that  face  befoah 
somewhere,"  said  the  Little  Colonel,  studying  it 


IDA'S  SECRET  63 

intently  in  the  dim  light.  There  was  a  familiarity 
about  it  that  puzzled  her. 

Ida  slipped  the  locket  back  and  gathered  up  her 
cape  about  her.  "  We  won't  dare  stay  here  much 
longer/'  she  said.  Then  she  hesitated.  "  Princess, 
I  have  told  you  all  this  because  I  need  your  help 
and  am  going  to  ask  a  great  favour  of  you.  Your 
mail  doesn't  have  to  go  through  the  principal's  hands. 
Will  you  be  willing  to  let  Edwardo  address  my 
letters  to  you  ?  It  couldn't  do  you  any  harm,  simply 
to  take  them  from  the  post-office  box  and  hand  them 
to  me,  and  it  would  make  a  world  of  difference 
to  me  —  and  to  him,"  she  added,  softly.  **  If  I 
were  to  refuse  to  let  him  write  to  me,  as  aunt  wants 
me  to  do,  and  were  to  break  off  our  engagement,  I 
think  it  would  make  him  so  reckless  that  he  would 
do  something  desperate.  Knowing  that,  I  feel  so 
responsible  for  him.  Princess,  I'd  give  my  life 
to  keep  him  straight." 

As  Ida  rose  in  her  earnestness,  the  tears  glistening 
in  her  eyes,  she  seemed  to  Lloyd  like  some  fair 
guardian  angel,  and  from  that  moment  she  was  set 
apart  in  her  imagination  as  if  she  had  been  a  saint 
on  a  pedestal.  With  such  a  noble  example  of  devo 
tion  to  one  in  need,  it  seemed  a  very  small  thing 


64        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

for  Lloyd  to  consent  to  the  favour  she  asked,  and 
she  gave  her  promise  gladly. 

"  I  shall  do  everything  I  can  to  keep  any  one 
from  suspecting  that  he  is  sending  letters  to  me 
through  you,"  said  Ida,  as  they  strolled  slowly  back 
toward  the  house.  "  I  can't  let  your  friendship  for 
me  get  you  into  trouble.  They'll  watch  me  very 
closely  now,  so  maybe  it  will  be  as  well  for  me  not 
to  appear  so  intimate  with  you  as  I  have  been.  We'll 
not  come  off  here  alone  any  more  at  recess.  By 
and  by,  when  I  feel  that  I  can,  I'll  try  to  interest 
myself  in  the  other  girls.  We'll  still  have  our  little 
confidential  meetings  just  the  same,  but  no  one  must 
suspect  us. 

"  I  wish  Mrs.  Walton  would  invite  me  to  her 
house  sometimes,"  she  said,  impulsively,  when  they 
had  walked  a  few  minutes  in  silence.  "  If  I  could 
fill  up  a  long  letter  to  aunt  about  that,  it  would 
make  her  feel  that  I  was  interested  in  something 
besides  Edwardo,  and  would  appease  her  wonder 
fully." 

"  I'll  ask  her  to,"  said  Lloyd,  eagerly.  "  Mrs. 
Walton  told  mothah  she  intended  to  have  Betty  and 
me  at  The  Beeches  very  often  while  she  was  away. 
The  first  time  she  invites  us  I'll  ask  her  to  have 
you  too.  She's  so  kind  and  sweet,  that  I'd  as  soon 


IDA'S  SECRET  65 

do  it  as  not.  All  she  seems  to  live  for  is  just  to 
make  othah  people  happy." 

"  Oh,  Princess,  if  you  only  would !  "  exclaimed 
Ida,  giving  her  a  delighted  hug.  "  Aunt  would  be 
so  pleased,  for  it  would  be  in  all  the  home  papers 
that  I  had  been  entertained  at  the  home  of  the  late 
General  Walton.  She  would  consider  it  such  an 
honour,  and  feel  that  in  one  way,  at  least,  I  was 
a  credit  to  her.  Aunt  thinks  so  much  of  attentions 
from  distinguished  people.  It  is  one  of  her  hobbies. 
I  would  like  to  please  her  as  much  as  possible  in 
every  way  I  can,  as  long  as  I  have  to  disregard 
her  wishes  about  —  what  I  just  told  you,  you  know. 
Sh !  We're  too  near  the  house  to  talk  any  more." 

The  rest  of  the  way  they  slipped  along  in  silence 
under  the  shadow  of  the  trees.  Up  the  creaking 
stairway  they  crept,  pausing  a  moment  before  they 
opened  the  door.  Then  they  shot  the  rusty  bolt 
noiselessly  back  in  place,  dropped  the  portiere,  and 
listened  again. 

"  It's  all  right,"  whispered  Ida,  giving  Lloyd's 
hand  a  reassuring  squeeze  as  they  tiptoed  down  the 
hall.  "  Oh,  you're  such  a  comfort !  You'll  never 
know  what  a  load  you've  taken  off  my  mind.  Good 
night!" 

In  those  few  moments  of  silence  between  the 


66         LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

orchard  and  the  house,  Lloyd's  thoughts  travelled 
rapidly.  Her  quarrel  with  Betty  had  faded  so  far 
into  the  background,  that  it  seemed  ridiculously 
trivial  now.  She  had  forgotten  her  grievance  in 
listening  to  the  tale  of  larger  trouble.  And  since 
Ida  had  made  it  clear  to  her  that  it  would  be  to 
her  interest  to  be  friendly  with  all  the  girls,  she 
was  eager  to  enlist  Betty's  sympathies  and  help. 
She  wished  fervently  that  she  could  share  her  secret 
with  her.  She  burst  into  the  room,  her  eyes  shining 
with  excitement,  and  blinking  as  they  met  the  bright 
lamplight. 

Betty  was  standing  in  her  nightgown,  ready  for 
bed.  She  saw  at  the  first  glance  that  Lloyd's  anger 
was  over,  and  she  drew  a  great  sigh  of  relief. 

"  Oh,  Betty,"  began  Lloyd,  impetuously,  "  I'm 
awfully  sorry  I  made  such  a  mountain  out  of  a 
mole-hill  this  mawning  and  got  into  a  tempah  about 
what  you  said.  You  were  right,  aftah  all.  Ida 
thinks  just  as  you  do,  that  we  oughtn't  to  go  off 
by  ourselves  all  the  time,  and  she  wants  to  be  friends 
with  the  othah  girls  if  they'll  let  her.  I'm  going 
back  to  the  old  ways  to-morrow,  and  try  not  to 
let  anything  spoil  the  good  times  you  talked  about. 
Ida  is  so  unhappy.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you,  but 
I  haven't  any  right  —  what  she  told  me  was  in 


f£>A'S  SECRET  6/ 

confidence.  But  if  you  only  knew,  you'd  do 
all  you  could  to  help  make  it  easiah  for  her  with  the 
girls." 

"I'll  do  anything  on  earth  you  want  me  to!" 
exclaimed  Betty.  "  This  has  been  the  longest,  miser- 
ablest  day  I  ever  spent." 

"  Oh,"  cried  the  Little  Colonel,  a  look  of  distress 
in  her  face.  "  Then  I've  spoiled  '  The  Road  of  the 
Loving  Heart '  that  I  wanted  to  leave  in  yoah 
memory.  I  haven't  been  true  to  my  ring."  She 
looked  down  at  the  talisman  on  her  finger,  the  little 
lover's  knot  of  gold,  and  turned  it  around  regretfully. 

"  No,  you  haven't  spoiled  anything!  "  cried  Betty. 
"  It  was  my  fault  too.  You're  the  dearest  girl  in 
the  world,  and  I'll  always  think  of  you  that  way. 
Let's  don't  say  another  word  about  to-day.  That's 
the  best  way  to  forget." 

Lloyd  began  undressing,  and  Betty  knelt  down 
to  say  her  prayers.  The  gong  rang  presently  for  all 
lights  to  be  put  out.  The  seminary  settled  itself 
to  silence,  then  to  sleep.  But  long  after  Betty's 
soft,  regular  breathing  showed  that  she  was  in 
dreamland,  Lloyd  lay  with  wide-open,  wakeful  eyes. 
The  moonlight  streaming  through  the  open  window 
lay  in  a  white  square  on  the  floor  by  her  bed..  She 
heard  the  clock  in  the  hall  toll  eleven,  twelve,  and  one 


68         LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

before  she  fell  asleep.  The  spell  of  the  orchard  was 
still  upon  her;  the  moonlight,  the  faint  strains  of 
music,  Ida's  white  face  with  the  tears  in  the  violet 
eyes,  and  the  glimmer  of  the  pearl  on  her  white 
hand  came  again  and  again  in  her  fitful  dreams,  all 
through  the  night 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE   SHADOW    CLUB 

LLOYD'S  return  to  the  old  ways  came  about  so 
naturally  next  morning,  that  no  one  seemed  to  notice 
her  sudden  desertion  of  Ida.  Just  after  the  morning 
recess  began,  little  Elise  Walton  came  running  up 
to  Allison,  crying  excitedly,  "  Oh,  sister !  Give  me 
your  handkerchief !  Quick !  Somebody  has  upset 
a  bottle  of  ink  on  Magnolia  Budine's  hair,  and  it's 
running  all  over  everything!  " 

Before  Allison  could  fish  her  handkerchief  from 
her  sleeve,  where  she  had  thrust  it  during  recitation, 
Lloyd  seized  a  basin  of  water  and  hurried  out  to 
the  back  hall  door.  There  stood  Magnolia,  her  head 
craned  forward  like  a  turtle,  as  far  as  possible  over 
the  steps,  to  keep  the  ink  from  dripping  on  her  dress. 
Half  a  dozen  little  girls  were  making  excited  passes 
at  it  with  handkerchiefs,  slate-rags,  and  sponges. 

"  Heah ! "  cried  Lloyd,  putting  the  basin  down 
on  the  step.  "  Bend  ovah,  Magnolia,  and  dip  yoah 
head  in!  Anna  Louise,  you  run  and  get  anothah 

69 


7O         LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

basin  in  the  hall,  and  Marguerite,  ask  some  of  the 
big  girls  to  bring  a  bucket  of  watah.  It'll  take  a 
tubful  to  soak  this  out." 

Whatever  the  Little  Colonel  undertook  was  thor 
oughly  done,  and  when  Magnolia  emerged  from  the 
last  vigorous  rinsing,  only  a  faint  green  tinge  re 
mained  on  the  flaxen  hair.  But  that  would  not 
wash  off,  Lloyd  declared.  She  had  had  a  similar 
experience  herself  when  she  was  in  the  primary 
grade.  It  would  simply  have  to  wear  off,  and  that 
process  might  take  days. 

.  Kitty  and  Allison  with  all  the  girls  of  their  set 
had  crowded  around  to  see  the  amusing  sight, 
offering  advice  and  laughing  all  the  time  the  per 
formance  lasted.  As  she  worked  Lloyd  related  her 
own  experience.  Rob  Moore  had  tipped  the  bottle 
of  ink  on  her  head  one  day,  when  they  were  writing 
letters  to  Santa  Claus,  and  Mom  Beck  had  washed 
her  hair  every  day  for  a  week  to  get  it  out. 

Finally,  turning  her  charge  over  to  the  primary 
girls  with  a  couple  of  towels  and  directions  to  rub 
her  dry  and  leave  her  in  the  sun  to  bleach,  Lloyd 
led  the  way  to  the  swing,  where  they  sat  laughing 
and  joking  over  Magnolia's  accident  until  the  bell 
rang  again. 

The  school  had  laughed  at  Magnolia  from  the 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  Jl 

first  day,  when  an  old  carryall  stopped  in  front 
of  the  seminary  and  she  climbed  out  with  a  huge 
carpet-bag  in  her  hand.  It  was  the  most  old-fash 
ioned  of  carpet-bags,  an  elaborate  pattern  of  red 
roses  on  each  side.  And  she  was  the  most  old- 
fashioned  of  little  girls,  buttoned  up  in  a  plain- 
waisted  bright  blue  merino  dress,  with  many  gathers 
in  the  full  skirt.  It  was  such  a  dress  as  her  grand 
mother  might  have  worn  when  she  was  a  child. 
Her  light  hair  was  drawn  back  tightly  behind  her 
ears,  and  braided  in  two  little  tails.  She  was  fat 
and  awkward  and  shy,  and  so  awed  by  the  strange 
surroundings  that  a  sort  of  terror  took  possession 
of  her  when  she  found  herself  alone  among  so  many 
unfamiliar  faces. 

It  was  Lloyd  Sherman  who  came  to  the  rescue 
when  she  saw  tears  of  fright  in  the  round,  blue  eyes. 
Lloyd  had  begun  the  school  term  with  a  resolution 
to  keep  true  to  the  talisman  she  wore,  the  little  ring 
that  was  to  remind  her  constantly  of  the  "  Road 
of  the  Loving  Heart "  which  she  wanted  to  build 
in  every  one's  memory.  This  was  her  first  oppor 
tunity.  She  led  the  little  stranger  to  the  principal's 
room,  and  stayed  beside  her  until  she  was  delivered 
safely  into  the  matron's  hands.  Later  it  was  Lloyd 
who  saw  her  in  chapel  looking  around  in  bewilder- 


72         LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

merit,  uncertain  where  to  go,  and  beckoned  her  to  a 
seat  near  her  own.  And  again  at  roll-call,  when 
somebody  tittered  at  the  unusual  name,  and  the 
child's  face  was  all  afire  with  embarrassment,  Lloyd's 
friendly  smile  flashed  across  to  her  was  like  a  rope 
thrown  to  a  drowning  man,  and  she  could  never 
forget  to  be  grateful  for  it. 

As  she  was  in  the  primary  department,  she  could 
only  worship  Lloyd  from  afar  during  the  day,  but 
as  rooms  were  assigned  irrespective  of  classes,  and 
hers  was  in  the  same  wing  and  on  the  same  floor 
with  Lloyd's,  she  often  left  her  door  ajar  in  the 
evening,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  her  pass,  or  hearing 
her  voice  in  the  hall.  Once  she  heard  Ida  call 
her  Princess.  The  name  struck  her  fancy,  and  as 
"  The  Princess "  Lloyd  was  henceforth  enshrined 
in  her  adoring  little  heart.  Lloyd  often  caught 
her  admiring  glances  in  chapel,  and  several  times 
found  little  offerings  in  her  desk  on  Monday  morn 
ings,  when  the  old  carryall  came  back  from  the 
Budine  farm  with  the  little  girl  and  the  huge  carpet 
bag. 

There  was  an  enormous  red  apple  one  time,  pol 
ished  to  the  highest  degree  of  shininess;  several 
ears  of  pop-corn  at  another,  and  once  a  stiff  little 
bunch  of  magenta  zinnias  and  yellow  chrysanthe- 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  f$ 

mums.  There  was  never  any  name  left  with  them. 
Lloyd  guessed  the  giver,  but  she  did  not  realize 
what  a  large  place  she  occupied  in  Magnolia's  affec 
tions,  or  how  the  child  choked  with  embarrassment 
till  she  almost  swallowed  her  chewing-gum,  when 
ever  Lloyd  chanced  to  meet  her  in  the  hall  with  a 
friendly  good  morning. 

"  Let's  go  down  to  the  playhouses  and  see  if  the 
green  is  bleaching  out  of  Magnolia's  hair,"  pro 
posed  Lloyd  at  the  afternoon  recess,  with  all  her 
old-time  heartiness;  and  again  the  girls  forgot  to 
wonder  why  she  stayed  with  them  instead  of  wander 
ing  off  with  Ida  to  the  orchard. 

Just  as  they  reached  the  spring  a  shout  went  up 
from  the  circle  of  little  girls  gathered  around  Mag 
nolia.  She  was  facing  them  defiantly,  her  fat  little 
face  red  with  mortification. 

"What's  the  matter,  Elise?"  asked  Allison,  in 
a  big-sister  tone.  "  Why  are  you  all  teasing  Mag 
nolia?" 

"  I'm  not  teasing  her,"  cried  Elise,  indignantly. 
"  I  told  her  just  now  not  to  mind  anything  they 
said,  and  I'd  lend  her  my  paper-doll  bride  to  play 
with  till  next  Friday  afternoon." 

"  She  said  that  she  learned  to  read  in  a  grave 
yard,  off  of  the  tombstones."  giggled  Anna  Louise, 


74         LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  and  it  seemed  so  funny  that  we  couldn't  help 
laughing." 

Magnolia  hung  her  head,  twisting  a  corner  of 
her  apron  in  her  fat  little  fingers,  and  wishing  that 
the  earth  would  open  and  swallow  her.  She  had 
seen  the  amusement  in  the  Little  Colonel's  face,  and 
it  hurt  worse  than  the  ridicule  of  all  the  others 
combined.  She  felt  that  she  must  die  of  shame. 

"  That's  nothing  to  laugh  at,"  said  Betty,  seeing 
the  distress  in  her  face,  and  divining  what  the  child 
was  suffering.  "  I  used  to  have  lovely  times  in 
the  old  graveyard  at  the  Cuckoo's  Nest.  Don't  you 
remember  how  peaceful  and  sweet  it  was,  Lloyd?" 
she  asked,  turning  to  the  Little  Colonel,  who  nodded 
assent.  "  Davy  and  I  used  to  walk  up  there  every 
afternoon  in  summer  to  smell  the  pinks  and  the 
lilies,  and  read  what  was  carved  on  the  old  stones. 
And  we'd  sit  there  in  the  grass  and  listen  to  the 
redbirds  in  the  cedars,  and  make  up  stories  about 
all  the  people  lying  there  asleep.  And  Davy  learned 
most  of  his  letters  there." 

"  That's  the  way  it  was  at  Loretta,  wasn't  it, 
Maggie!"  exclaimed  Elise,  encouragingly.  "Tell 
them  about  it." 

But  Maggie  hung  her  head  and  twisted  the  toes 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  J$ 

of  her  stubby  shoes  around  in  the  dust,  unable  to 
say  a  word. 

"  I'll  tell  them,  then,"  said  Elise,  turning  to  the 
larger  girls.  "  They  used  to  live  near  the  convent 
at  Loretta,  and  one  of  their  neighbours,  a  girl 
lots  older  than  Maggie,  used  to  take  her  up  to  the 
graveyard  nearly  every  day.  There  wasn't  any  place 
else  to  go,  you  know^  and  it  was  lonesome  out  there 
in  the  country.  This  girl  was  named  Corono,  after 
one  of  the  Sisters  who  was  dead.  She  had  been 
awfully  good  to  both  their  families,  when  they  were 
sick,  and  Corono  and  Maggie  used  to  make  daisy- 
chains  and  crowns  out  of  the  honeysuckles  and  roses, 
'cause  Corono  means  crown,  and  put  them  on  her 
grave.  And  every  time  they  would  go,  Maggie 
would  learn  a  new  letter  off  one  of  the  tombstones, 
and  after  awhile  she  got  so  she  could  read." 

"  How  interesting !  "  exclaimed  Lloyd,  all  uncon 
scious  of  the  way  her  words  set  Maggie's  heart  to 
beating  with  pleasure.  Elise  turned  toward  her  with 
a  motherly  air  that  seemed  very  funny  considering 
that  she  was  smaller  than  the  child  whom  she  was 
championing  so  valiantly.  "  I'm  going  to  ask  them 
about  that  album  right  now,  Maggie.  You  run 
back  to  school  and  get  it." 

Glad  of  any  excuse  to  make  her  escape,  Maggie 


?6        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

started  off  to  the  house  as  fast  as  her  fat  little 
legs  would  carry  her.  Deprived  of  their  sport, 
the  smaller  girls  returned  to  their  playhouses  and 
the  older  ones  strolled  leisurely  back  toward  the 
seminary.  Elise  tagged  along  beside  Lloyd  and 
Allison. 

"  Maggie  has  gone  to  get  her  autograph-album," 
she  explained.  "  It  used  to  be  her  mother's  when 
she  went  to  school  at  the  convent,  but  now  it's 
Maggie's.  Not  more  than  half  the  leaves  are  written 
on,  and  her  mother  said  she  could  use  it  if  she'd 
be  very  careful.  She  wants  you  girls  to  write  in  it. 
She  has  had  it  in  her  desk  for  two  weeks,  trying 
to  get  up  her  courage  to  ask  you,  Lloyd,  but  she 
was  afraid  you  would  laugh.  I  told  her  I  wasn't 
afraid.  I'd  ask  you.  She  wants  all  the  big  girls 
to  write  in  it,  but  she  said  'specially  (  The  Prin 
cess! " 

"  The  Princess !  "  echoed  Lloyd,  in  surprise. 

"  Yes,  that's  what  she  calls  you  all  the  time. 
'Cause  you  were  that  in  the  play,  I  suppose.  She 
thinks  you  are  the  loveliest  person  she  ever  saw, 
and  says  if  she  could  just  look  like  you  and  be 
like  you  for  one*  day,  she'd  die  happy.  And  once  " 
—  Elise  lowered  her  voice  confidentially  —  "  she  told 
me  that  when  she  says  her  prayers  every  night,  she 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  Jf 

always  prays  that  some  day  she'll  grow  nice  enough 
for  you  to  like  her." 

"The  poor  little  thing!"  cried  Lloyd,  much 
touched.  "  To  think  of  her  caring  like  that !  You 
tell  her,  Elise,  that  of  co'se  we'll  all  write  in  it. 
I  shall  be  glad  to." 

Elise  ran  on  after  Maggie,  happy  in  the  accom 
plishment  of  her  kindly  assumed  mission,  and  pres 
ently  came  back  with  the  book  which  she  left  in 
Lloyd's  hands. 

"  Look,  girls,  what  a  funny  old-fashioned  thing 
it  is ! "  cried  Lloyd,  turning  to  Katie  Mallard,  who 
with  Betty  and  Kitty  were  just  behind  them.  All 
the  others  came  crowding  around  also. 

"  Heah  is  '  Album  of  the  Heart '  in  gilt  lettahs 
on  the  back,  with  such  funny  plump  little  cupids 
sitting  in  the  rose-wreath  around  it." 

"  And,  oh,  see !  "  cried  Betty,  glancing  over  her 
shoulder  at  the  delicately  traced  names  of  the  gentle 
nuns,  and  the  girls  who  had  been  playmates  of 
Maggie's  mother  in  a  far-away  past.  "  They  are 
all  dated  over  forty  years  ago." 

"  Of  course,"  answered  Katie.  "  Nobody  is  old- 
fashioned  enough  nowadays  to  have  an  autograph- 
album.  They  are  so  old-timey  and  out  of  date." 

"  Wait  a  minute,  please,"  said  Betty,  as  Lloyd 


78         LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

slowly  turned  the  leaves.  "  What  is  that  verse  signed 
Sister  Corono?    Oh,  it  is  an  acrostic.     See?    The 
initial  letters  of  each  line,   read  downward,   spell 
Martha.     That  must  be  Mrs.  Budine's  name." 
Several  voices  read  the  verse  in  unison : 

"May  thy  life  be  ever  led 
A  long  the  path  of  duty, 
Rich  in  deeds  of  helpfulness, 
TTiat  fill  sad  hearts  with  beauty. 
Happiness  shall  then  attend  thee, 
And  all  the  blessed  saints  befriend  thee." 

"Isn't  that  sweet?"  cried  Betty.  "I'm  going 
to  write  one  for  Magnolia.  There's  something  pa 
thetic  about  that  child  to  me.  She  looks  so  wistful 
sometimes.  She's  dreadfully  odd,  but  it's  mean  of 
the  girls  to  laugh  at  her." 

"  I'll  do  something  extra  nice,  too,"  said  Lloyd. 
"  I  can't  write  poetry,  but  I'll  copy  a  bar  of  music 
from  one  of  the  Princess  Winsome  songs.  I  think 
notes  look  so  pretty  copied  in  pen  and  ink." 

"  I'll  paint  a  magnolia  blossom  in  water-colours," 
said  Allison,  not  to  be  outdone  by  the  others. 

"  And  I  —  oh,  I'll  draw  a  kitten  for  her  to  re 
member  my  name  by,"  said  Kitty,  laughing. 

As  both  Allison  and  Kitty  had  real  talent  for 
drawing,  the  girls  who  saw  the  pages  they  decorated 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  79 

were  moved  to  envy;  and  when  Betty  added  an 
acrostic  on  the  name  Magnolia,  nobody  had  a  word 
of  ridicule  for  the  little  Album  of  the  Heart,  that 
was  serving  two  generations  as  a  storehouse  of  senti 
ment.  Betty's  verse  was  passed  around  the  school : 

"May  our  friendship  be  as  sweet 
As  the  flower  whose  name  you  bear. 
Girlhood  days  are  fleet. 
No  others  are  half  so  fair. 
O  like  a  violet  pressed, 
Let  my  name  on  this  page  long  dwell, 
7n  after  years  to  recall 
A  schoolmate  who  wished  you  well." 

When  the  girls  read  that,  an  autograph-album 
fever  broke  out  in  the  school.  Every  one  came  to 
Betty  for  an  acrostic.  She  spent  all  her  playtime 
writing  them.  She  ate  all  her  meals  struggling  in 
wardly  with  the  hard  initials  in  such  names  as 
Pinkie,  Ursula,  and  Vashti.  She  even  dreamed 
rhymes  in  her  sleep. 

Lloyd  copied  music  until  her  fingers  ached,  for 
everybody  requested  a  verse  of  a  Princess  Winsome 
song.  Kitty  drew  whole  colonies  of  kittens,  and 
Allison,  finding  it  impossible  to  paint  a  flower  typical 
of  each  name  presented,  took  to  painting  a  single 
forget-me-not  above  her  name. 

The  teachers,  too,  suffered  from  the  epidemic,  and 


8O        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

even  people  outside  the  school,  until  the  principal 
found  twenty-three  letters  in  the  mail-bag  one* 
morning,  all  addressed  to  a  well-known  writer  of 
juvenile  stories,  whose  books  were  the  most  pop 
ular  in  the  school.  An  investigation  proved  that 
because  one  girl  had  received  his  autograph,  twenty- 
three  had  followed  her  example  in  requesting  it, 
and  not  one  of  them  had  enclosed  a  stamp ;  nor  had 
it  occurred  to  them  that  an  author's  time  is  too 
valuable  to  spend  in  answering  questions,  merely  to 
satisfy  the  idle  curiosity  of  his  readers. 

"  One  stamp  is  of  little  value,"  said  the  principal, 
"  but  multiply  it  by  the  hundreds  he  would  have 
to  use  in  a  year  in  answering  the  letters  of  thought 
less  strangers,  who  have  no  claim  on  him  in  any 
way."  Twenty-three  girls  filed  out  into  the  hall 
after  the  principal's  little  talk  that  followed,  and 
slipped  their  letters  from  the  mail-bag.  Ten  of 
them  threw  theirs  into  the  waste-basket.  The  others, 
who  had  asked  no  questions  and  were  more  desirous 
of  obtaining  their  favourite  author's  autograph, 
opened  theirs  to  enclose  an  envelope,  stamped  and 
addressed;  but  few  more  letters  of  the  kind  went 
out  from  Lloydsboro  Seminary  after  that. 

Kitty,  Katie,  Allison,  Betty,  and  Lloyd  all  pounced 
upon  Miss  Edith  one  morning  before  school,  each 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  8 1 

with  an  album  in  her  hand.  Miss  Edith  clutched  her 
hair  in  mock  despair.  "  These  make  the  seventh 
dozen  I  have  been  asked  to  write  in  this  week," 
she  declared.  "  Life  is  too  short  to  hunt  up  a 
different  sentiment  for  each  one.  I  must  use  the 
same  verse  for  everybody." 

The  girls  perched  on  the  desks  around  the  rostrum, 
as  she  spread  out  the  books  before  her  and  began 
to  write.  They  always  loved  the  few  moments  they 
could  snatch  in  Miss  Edith's  room  before  school,  and 
felt  that  her  autograph  would  be  one  of  the  most 
valuable  in  the  collection. 

"  This  is  one  of  my  favourite  verses/'  said  Miss 
Edith,  as  she  passed  the  blotter  over  the  last  page, 
and  read  it  aloud: 

"This  learned  I  from  the  shadow  of  a  tree 
That  to  and  fro  did  sway  upon  the  wall : 
Our  shadow-selves  —  our  influence  —  may  fall 
Where  we  can  never  be." 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  a  little  incident  that  fastened 
it  in  my  memory.  I  have  a  friend  teaching  in  one 
of  the  mountain  schools  of  Kentucky,  who  told 
me  of  two  girls  who  came  to  the  door  one  day, 
asking  to  be  admitted  as  students.  Each  carried 
a  bundle  of  clothes  wrapped  in  a  newspaper.  That 
was  all  they  had  —  no  money  to  pay  their  tuition, 


82         LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

no  way  of  paying  their  board  unless  they  were 
allowed  to  work  for  it.  They  had  walked  forty 
miles  to  get  to  that  school.  Their  home  was  twice 
the  distance  away,  but  their  uncle,  who  was  a  tin 
pedlar,  took  them  half-way  in  his  wagon.  They 
were  a  week  on  the  road  after  they  left  him,  where 
his  route  branched  off  from  theirs.  They  stopped 
at  night  in  some  village  or  farmhouse  to  which  he 
directed  them. 

"  Nobody  had  the  heart  to  tell  them  that  there  was 
no  room  for  students  who  could  not  pay  their  way, 
neither  could  any  one  turn  away  such  ambition.  But 
the  school  was  poor.  It  is  kept  up  by  donations  from 
benevolent  people,  and  it  was  only  by  great  self- 
sacrifice  that  the  teachers  could  take  them  at  all. 

"  The  following  vacation,  while  I  was  at  the  sea 
shore,  I  had  a  letter  from  this  friend,  and  happened 
to  speak  of  it  and  the  two  girls  to  a  wealthy  lady 
whom  I  met  there.  She  seemed  so  interested  that 
I  read  her  my  friend's  letters.  They  were  so  full 
of  the  struggles  and  hardships  of  those  mountain 
people  that  she  was  greatly  interested  and  touched, 
and  began  corresponding  with  the  principal  of  the 
school  herself.  The  outcome  of  it  was  that  she  sent 
a  check  for  ten  thousand  dollars  to  endow  scholar 
ships.  Of  course  these  two  girls  were  the  first 


THE   SHADOW  CLUB  83 

to  be  benefited  by  the  gift,  and  next  June  they  will 
be  graduated  from  the  school  with  honour,  fitted 
to  become  teachers  themselves,  far  in  advance  of 
the  time  it  would  have  taken  had  they  been  obliged 
to  work  their  way  through.  Instead  of  plodding 
along,  using  the  greater  part  of  their  time  and 
strength  in  laundry  work  or  sewing,  they  could 
go  on  with  the  college  course  uninterrupted.  They 
are  going  to  start  a  school  themselves  in  the  moun 
tains,  nearer  their  own  home. 

"  Now  that  lady  never  saw  those  girls,  and  they 
were  as  unconscious  that  their  influence  was  touch 
ing  a  life  a  thousand  miles  away  as  that  tree  out 
yonder,  throwing  its  shadow  across  on  the  Clover- 
croft  lawn.  They  simply  stood  in  their  places  and 
reached  out  as  far  as  they  possibly  could  after  what 
was  good  and  high  and  worthy  in  life;  but  for 
years  and  years  to  come,  students  who  profit  by 
that  endowment  will  be  grateful  for  the  shadow  cast 
by  those  two  ambitious  girls." 

Miss  Edith  never  preached.  She  did  not  go  on 
to  tell  them,  as  Miss  McCannister  would  have  done, 
that  they  were  responsible  not  only  for  the  influence 
of  their  daily  living  upon  others,  but  for  the  effect 
their  shadow-selves  might  cast  on  others  far  beyond 
their  reach.  She  only  pointed  to  the  flaming  red 


84        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

leaves  of  a  gum-tree  outside  the  window,  and  the 
shadow  swaying  partly  on  the  high  picket  fence,  and 
partly  across  the  Clovercroft  lawn,  then  passed  the 
albums  back  with  a  smile.  Then  the  girls  filed 
slowly  out  to  chapel. 

It  was  a  warm  October  day,  and  as  Allison  took 
her  seat  by  an  open  window  in  the  history  class  an 
hour  later,  she  found  it  hard  to  fix  her  thoughts 
on  the  old  French  and  Indian  wars.  It  was  so 
much  pleasanter  to  look  with  dreamy  eyes  through 
the  haze  of  the  Indian  summer,  which  Mom  Beck 
said  was  the  ghost-smoke  from  the  peace-pipes  of 
old  dead  and  gone  chieftains. 

She  watched  the  slow  fluttering  to  earth  of  the 
pale  yellow  maple  leaves,  and  listened  to  the  soft 
rustling  of  the  gorgeous  red  leaves  on  the  gum-tree 
to  which  Miss  Edith  had  pointed.  Once  or  twice  she 
started,  recalling  her  thoughts  to  the  history  lesson 
with  an  effort  as  she  remembered  the  girls  who  were 
hungry  enough  for  an  education  to  walk  forty  miles 
for  it  and  work  for  their  board.  She  thought  vaguely 
how  eagerly  they  would  have  improved  their  oppor 
tunities  had  they  been  in  her  place.  They  would 
have  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  old  wars,  instead 
of  sitting  in  idle  day-dreams. 

All  at  once,  as  Allison  watched  the  swaying  of 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  85 

the  gum-tree's  shadow  on  the  fence  and  lawn,  a 
thought  came  to  her  that  made  her  seize  a  pencil  and 
a  piece  of  paper.  Writing  notes  was  forbidden  in 
Miss  McCannister's  classes,  but  Allison  could  not 
wait  until  recess  to  share  her  brilliant  thought  with 
Lloyd.  With  her  big  eyes  fixed  innocently  on  Miss 
Bina's  fishy  ones,  she  scribbled  slowly  on  the  paper 
without  once  looking  down :  "  Let's  form  a  Shadow 
Club,  with  Miss  Edith's  verse  for  a  motto.  A.  W ." 

It  took  much  manoeuvring  to  succeed  in  passing 
the  slip  of  paper  to  Lloyd,  who  sat  several  seats  in 
front.  When  it  finally  reached  her  she  did  not 
dare  turn  round  to  nod  a  pleased  assent,  but  Alli 
son  knew  that  her  suggestion  was  received  favour 
ably,  for  Lloyd's  hand  at  once  went  up  to  readjust 
the  bow  at  the  back  of  her  hair;  and  two  fingers 
wagged  violently  for  an  instant  out  of  Miss  Bina's 
sight.  Had  it  been  her  thumb,  Allison  would  have 
interpreted  the  signal  to  mean  no;  but  from  the 
rapid  wagging  of  the  two  fingers  she  knew  that 
Lloyd  was  much  pleased  with  the  idea. 

Allison's  plan,  as  she  outlined  it  to  Betty,  Lloyd, 
and  Kitty  at  recess,  in  one  of  the  swings,  was  to 
form  a  club  that  should  be  not  only  fun  for  them 
selves,  but  of  some  real  benefit  to  the  girls  of  the 
mountain  districts.  The  Christmas  before,  the  little 


86        LITTLE  COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

circle  of  Busy  Bees,  to  which  Elise  belonged,  had 
sent  two  barrels  of  clothes  and  toys  to  them,  under 
Mrs.  Ceiling's  supervision.  She  had  organized  the 
circle,  and  was  deeply  interested  in  the  work.  Now 
Allison  proposed  that  the  club  should  earn  money 
for  the  same  purpose.  She  grew  quite  enthusiastic 
planning  the  fair  they  could  hold  in  the  spring. 
"  Kitty  and  I  could  paint  calendars  and  sachets  and 
paper  dolls,  you  know,  Lloyd,  and  you  and  Betty 
could  embroider  things." 

"  Katie  Mallard  crochets  the  cunningest  little 
doll-caps  you  ever  saw,"  suggested  Kitty.  "Of 
course  we'll  have  her  in  it." 

A  warm  glow  came  into  the  Little  Colonel's  heart. 
Here  was  her  chance  to  do  something  for  Ida. 
"  Let's  have  just  a  little  bit  of  a  club,"  she  urged ; 
"  not  more  than  half  a  dozen.  If  we  begin  to  invite 
generally,  it's  impossible  to  draw  the  line  where 
we  can  stop.  We  can't  ask  all  the  school,  for  if  we 
have  refreshments,  for  so  many,  each  meeting  will 
be  like  giving  a  big  pa'hty.  But  half  a  dozen  of  us 
could  get  together  whenever  we  felt  like  it,  and  have 
the  cosiest  kind  of  a  time  with  our  chafing-dishes, 
without  the  rest  rinding  it  out.  Then  nobody  would 
feel  hurt." 

"  Here's  four  of  us  to  begin  with,"  said  Kitty, 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  8/ 

"  and  if  we  have  Katie  there's  five.  Shall  you  ask 
Corinne?  " 

"  I  wish  we  could,"  said  Betty,  "  but  that  would 
leave  Margery  out,  and  it  would  never  do  to  ask 
them  and  not  have  Anna  Louise  and  Marguerite. 
It  must  be  all  or  none  in  that  crowd." 

"  I  wish  you  all  would  be  willing  to  ask  Ida," 
said  Lloyd,  imploringly.  "  She  does  such  beautiful 
leather-work,  and  that  brings  better  prices  than 
anything  we  can  make." 

"  I  am  sure  I'm  willing,"  said  Betty,  cordiaHy. 

"  I  have  no  objection,"  said  Allison,  remembering 
the  pleasant  things  Ida  had  said  about  her,  and 
Kitty,  who  cared  little  who  was  in  the  club  or  out 
of  it,  so  long  as  she  had  Katie  Mallard,  echoed  her 
sister's  consent. 

"As  it  is  a  Shadow  Club,  we'll  keep  dark  about 
it,"  said  Kitty.  "  The  girls  need  never  know  we've 
formed  one.  We  ought  to  meet  in  the  dark  to 
carry  out  the  idea  of  its  name.  How  would  it  do 
to  have  the  haunted  house  of  Hartwell  Hollow 
for  our  meeting-place?  " 

"  Mercy,  no !  "  exclaimed  Lloyd,  with  a  shiver. 
"  That's  too  spooky,  but  if  you  and  Allison  and 
Katie  can  make  some  excuse  to  spend  the  night  at 


88        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

the  seminary  some  time,  we'll  have  a  midnight 
suppah." 

"  I  think  we  might  tell  mother  and  Mrs.  Mallard 
about  the  club,"  said  Allison.  "  They  can  keep  a 
secret,  and  we'll  have  lots  nicer  times  and  better 
refreshments  if  we  let  them  into  it." 

"Well,"  agreed  Lloyd,  "but  we  mustn't  let  a 
single  girl  find  it  out.  They'd  be  mad  as  fiah  to 
be  slighted  this  way.  Cross  yoah  heart  and  body 
now,  every  one  of  you,  that  you'll  not  breathe  it 
to  a  soul." 

Three  hands  instantly  imitated  her  solemn  gesture. 

"  We'll  have  the  first  meeting  at  The  Beeches," 
said  Allison,  "  because  I  got  up  the  club.  I'll  get 
mother  to  telephone  to  the  principal  to  let  you  and 
Betty  and  Ida  come  over  to  supper  Saturday." 

Lloyd  danced  away  to  recitation  so  happy  that 
her  face  fairly  beamed.  She  managed  to  spell 
across  to  Ida  on  her  fingers  that  the  invitation  she 
had  coveted  was  hers  at  last. 


CHAPTER  V. 

AT     THE    BEECHES 

"  How  good  it  feels  to  be  free !  "  exclaimed  the 
Little  Colonel,  as  she  pushed  open  the  high  green 
picket  gate  in  front  of  the  seminary,  and  held  it 
ajar  for  Ida  to  pass  through. 

"  This  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  been  out  on  the 
road  without  a  teachah  and  a  flock  of  girls,  for  a 
whole  month.  I  despise  the  way  we  have  to  line 
up  two  by  two  and  go  mah'ching  through  the  Valley 
as  if  we  were  pah't  of  a  circus  parade,  or  inmates 
of  an  asylum,  out  for  an  airing." 

Ida  laughed  as  they  started  down  the  path,  along 
the  road  leading  to  The  Beeches.  It  was  one  of 
those  perfect  days  in  mid-October  when  it  is  easy 
to  laugh ;  when  all  outdoors  seems  filled  to  the  brim 
with  a  great  content,  and  even  the  woods  and  fields, 
all  autumn-clad,  are  keeping  holiday.  Besides  it  was 
Saturday  afternoon,  and  they  were  on  their  way 
to  their  first  club  meeting. 

This  was  their  first  appearance  together  since  the 
89 


90         LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

nig-ht  of  their  stolen  visit  to  the  apple  orchard,  a 
week  ago.  It  had  cost  Lloyd  many  a  pang  to  give 
up  her  intimacy  with  Ida,  but  she  had  never  shown 
such  unselfishness  as  she  did  in  this  devotion  to 
her  friend.  Since  Ida's  interests  demanded  that 
she  should  go  off  with  the  other  girls  no  matter 
how  much  she  longed  to  stay,  she  went  obediently. 
Although  Ida  no  longer  wore  her  violets?  she  kept 
her  room  sweet  with  fresh  bunches  of  them.  Al 
though  her  name  was  constantly  in  her  thoughts,  she 
rarely  mentioned  it,  even  to  Betty.  A  few  whispered 
words  in  the  hall,  an  adoring  glance  toward  her 
now  and  then  at  the  table,  was  all  she  could  snatch 
in  the  daytime.  She  even  allowed  the  school  to 
surmise  what  it  pleased ;  that  Ida  had  quarrelled  with 
her  or  had  grown  tired  of  her;  for  her  love  was 
of  the  kind  that  "  endureth  all  things."  But  every 
night  she  lay  awake,  living  over  that  scene  in  the 
moonlit  orchard,  happy  in  the  consciousness  that  she 
was  making  Ida  happy,  and  dreaming  of  the  romance 
that  she  was  helping  on  its  way. 

Betty  had  hurried  on  up  the  road  to  call  by  for 
Katie  Mallard,  with  the  agreement  that  the  couple 
which  reached  the  post-office  first  should  wait  there 
for  the  other. 

"  Let's  cut  through  Clovercroft,"  suggested  Lloyd. 


AT  THE  BEECHES  9! 

"  Mrs.  Marks  won't  care,  and  it  is  much  shortah  that 
way.  The  path  below  her  ice-house  will  bring  us 
out  at  her  woodland  gate,  just  across  the  road  from 
the  depot." 

"  Anything  to  get  to  the  post-office  first,"  agreed 
Ida.  "I'm  sure  that  there'll  be  a  letter  in  your 
box  for  me  to-day.  I  can  just  feel  that  there's 
one  there." 

From  the  depot  it  was  but  a  few  steps  to  the 
post-office.  One  had  only  to  cross  the  road,  pass 
the  country  store,  and  stroll  a  short  distance  along 
the  shady  avenue.  There  it  sat  by  the  wayside,  a 
little  box  of  a  room,  that  always  made  Lloyd  think 
of  a  dove-cote;  for  the  first  time  she  had  been 
taken  there  her  grandfather  had  explained  that  all 
the  little  square  places  where  Miss  Mattie  was  put 
ting  the  letters  were  pigeonholes.  Presently  when 
Miss  Mattie  opened  the  window  and  handed  him 
a  letter  from  one  of  those  places,  she  cried  out  with 
a  little  squeal  of  delight  which  made  every  one  smile, 
"  Oh,  white  pigeon  wing  flied  out  fo'  you,  grand- 
fathah!" 

Afterward  it  grew  to  be  a  byword  that  they  always 
used  between  themselves,  when  one  carried  home  a 
letter  for  the  other.  "  Pigeon  wing  for  grandpa's 
baby,"  he  would  call  fondly,  even  when  she  had 


92        LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

grown  to  be  a  tall  girl;  and  "  White  pigeon  wing 
flied  out  fo'  you,  grandfathah  deah,"  was  the  cry 
if  she  were  the  bearer  of  the  missive. 

From  the  post-office  door,  looking  across  the  road 
to  a  grassy  ridge  beyond,  one  could  see  the  big  inn 
that  the  year  before  had  been  turned  into  a  home 
for  old  Confederate  soldiers.  Farther  on  was  the 
wide  green  slope  of  the  churchyard,  and  the  little 
stone  church  with  its  ivy-covered  belfry.  The  manse 
stood  just  behind  it.  Next  to  that  was  the  cottage 
with  the  high  green  gables  and  diamond-shaped 
window-panes,  where  the  Waltons  had  lived  one 
summer  while  their  new  house  was  being  built.  And 
next  to  the  cottage  was  the  new  house  itself,  set 
away  back  in  the  great  grove  of  trees  which  gave 
to  the  place  the  name  of  "  The  Beeches." 

Ida  stood  outside  the  door  while  Lloyd  went  in 
for  the  mail.  She  was  afraid  that  Miss  Mattie 
might  suspect  that  she  had  an  interest  in  the  letters 
if  she  went  in  too,  so  she  busied  herself  in  looking 
for  four-leaf  clovers  along  the  path.  She  could 
not  have  seen  one,  however,  had  they  been  grow 
ing  on  every  grass-blade,  she  was  in  such  a  ner 
vous  flutter  of  expectancy.  When  Lloyd  came  out 
with  two  letters  in  her  hand,  her  face  flushed  crim- 


AT  THE  BEECHES  93 

son  at  sight  of  the  familiar  handwriting  on  one 
envelope. 

"  This  is  mine,"  she  exclaimed,  in  a  low  tone, 
snatching  it  eagerly.  "  Let's  sit  down  here  on  the 
step  while  I  read  it." 

"  I'm  mighty  glad  it  wasn't  the  only  one,"  said 
Lloyd,  glancing  back  over  her  shoulder  to  see  if 
Miss  Mattie  still  stood  at  the  delivery-window. 
Peeping  through  the  glass  which  covered  the  par 
tition  wall  of  pigeonholes,  Lloyd  saw  that  she  had 
gone  back  to  her  desk  by  the  rear  window.  So 
she  continued,  in  a  low  tone: 

"  Suppose  that  had  been  the  only  letter,  and  Betty 
had  asked  me  if  I  got  one?  " 

"  You  would  have  said  no,  of  course,"  said  Ida, 
looking  up  from  the  page,  impatient  at  the  inter 
ruption.  "  This  is  not  for  you." 

"  But  it  is  addressed  to  me,"  persisted  Lloyd. 
"  Suppose  Miss  Mattie  heard  me  say  no  to  such 
a  question,  or  that  Betty  saw  me  take  it  out  of 
the  box?" 

Again  Ida  looked  up  impatiently,  but  seeing  the 
distressed  expression  of  Lloyd's  face,  said,  sooth 
ingly,  "  I  know  what  you  are  thinking,  Princess. 
It  has  just  occurred  to  you  that  your  helping  me 
to  carry  on  this  correspondence  under  cover  of  your 


94        LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

name  seems  a  little  bit  underhanded.  But  if  you 
could  just  read  this  letter  you'd  never  be  troubled 
by  such  a  thought  again.  It  makes  me  feel  that 
I  am  carrying  out  the  motto  of  our  club  in  the 
very  highest  way  possible. 

"'Our   shadow-selves  —  our   influence  —  may  fall 
Where  we  can  never  be.'" 

she  quoted,  softly,  looking  dreamily  away  toward 
the  ivy-grown  belfry. 

"  I  cannot  be  with  Edwardo,  but  at  least  half 
of  this  letter  is  taken  up  with  telling  me  how  much 
my  letters  have  helped  and  influenced  him.  That 
the  thought  of  me  off  here,  true  to  him  in  spite 
of  all  that  has  been  done  to  separate  us,  is  keeping 
him  straight  as  nothing  else  could  do.  Somehow  it 
seems  a  good  omen  for  the  club  that  I  should  get 
such  a  letter  on  my  way  to  the  first  meeting." 

Ida's  manner  was  convincing2  and  Lloyd's  face 
brightened  as  she  listened,  but  she  breathed  more 
freely  when  she  saw  the  envelope  bearing  her  name 
torn  into  little  bits  too  small  to  tell  tales,  and  dropped 
down  the  crack  behind  the  doorstep. 

Betty  and  Katie  joined  them  presently,  and  two 
by  two  they  rustled  along  through  the  fallen  leaves 
which  filled  the  path,  to  The  Beeches.  Long  before 


AT  THE  BEECHES  95 

three  o'clock  the  six  members  of  the  Shadow  Club 
were  assembled  around  the  big  table  in  the  dining- 
room,  with  their  materials  spread  out  for  Mrs.  Wal 
ton's  inspection.  Piles  of  brightly  coloured  tissue- 
paper,  embroidery  silks,  zephyr,  and  ribbon,  made  a 
gay  showing.  Mrs.  Walton  entered  into  their  plans 
for  the  fair  enthusiastically,  as  she  helped  wind 
a  skein  of  Iceland  wool  for  Katie's  crocheting. 

"  The  beauty  of  this  club,"  remarked  Kitty,  as 
she  opened  her  paint-box  and  carefully  selected  a 
brush,  "  is  that  there's  no  fuss  and  feathers  about 
it.  No  election  of  officers,  no  dues,  no  rules,  no 
tiresome  minutes  to  read.  All  we  have  to  do  when 
we  begin  is  to  begin." 

"  And  to  remember  our  motto,"  suggested  Betty, 
to  whom  the  purpose  of  the  club  appealed  strongly. 

"  Ida  has  made  something  to  help  us  do  that," 
said  Lloyd.  "  Give  them  to  us  now,  Ida,  while 
Mrs.  Walton  is  here  to  see  them,  please,"  she  urged. 

Ida,  who  had  delayed  showing  them  for  that  very 
reason,  glanced  shyly  toward  her  hostess,  and  then 
hesitatingly  opened  the  case  which  held  her  pyrog- 
raphy  outfit. 

"  It's  only  some  little  blotting-pads  for  your 
writing-desks,"  she  said,  with  a  blush.  "  It  seems 
to  me  that  the  verse  is  especially  appropriate  at 


96        LITTLE  COLONEL   AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

letter-writing  time,  when  we  consciously  cast  our 
shadow-selves  where  we  cannot  be." 

There  was  a  chorus  of  delighted  exclamations 
as  she  passed  the  packages  around.  Only  two  nar 
row  slips  of  white  blotting-paper  held  together  by 
a  white  silken  cord,  but  the  cover  was  of  soft  gray 
kid,  on  which  she  had  burned  with  her  pyrography 
needle  the  club's  motto  in  old  English  letters.  Mrs. 
Walton  leaned  over  the  table  to  read  the  one  on 
Allison's : 

"  Gbfe  learned  f  from  tbe  sbaoow  of  a  tree 
Gbat  to  ano  fro  ofo  swag  upon  a  wall, 
©ur  0ba5ow*selves  — our  influence— mag  fall 
tKlbere  we  can  never  be." 

"  It  is  beautifully  done,  my  dear,"  she  exclaimed, 
smiling  down  into  the  shy  violet  eyes  raised  grate 
fully  to  hers  in  acknowledgment  of  her  lavish  praise. 
"  The  club  is  certainly  to  be  congratulated  on  having 
a  member  who  can  not  only  make  such  pretty  things, 
but  who  can  think  of  such  sweet,  suggestive  ways 
in  which  to  keep  its  purpose  always  in  view." 

Lloyd's  hand,  groping  along  under  the  table, 
found  Ida's  and  gave  it  a  squeeze  of  sympathetic 
delight. 

"  There's  something  to  write  to  your  aunt,"  she 
whispered.  While  the  girls  were  still  admiring  their 


AT  THE  BEECHES  97 

blotters,  the  maid  came  in  to  announce  a  visitor 
for  Mrs.  Walton  in  the  library. 

Several  minutes  after  she  had  left  them  to  them 
selves,  Kitty  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  mamma  forgot  to 
give  me  those  little  brass  clamps  to  fasten  the  candle- 
shades,  and  now  she  has  company,  and  I  haven't  the 
faintest  idea  where  to  look  for  them." 

"  They  may  be  in  the  hat-rack  drawer  in  the  hall," 
suggested  Allison.  "  I  think  I  saw  them  in  there 
this  morning,  but  I  am  not  sure." 

Kitty  skipped  out  of  the  room  to  look  for  them, 
and  a  few  minutes  later  came  back,  her  black  eyes 
shining  teasingly. 

"  I  have  a  trade-last  for  you2  Ida,"  she  said. 
"  Mrs.  Mallard  is  in  the  library,  discussing  our 
club,  and  I  heard  mother  say  something  awfully 
nice  about  you." 

"Tell  it!  "demanded  Lloyd. 

"  No,  I  said  a  trade-last." 

"  Oh,  fishing  for  a  compliment ! "  sang  Katie. 
"  Don't  tell  her,  Ida,  even  if  you  have  heard  one. 
It  will  make  her  vain." 

"  Besides,"  put  in  Allison,  "  Miss  Bina  McCannis- 
ter  said  it  was  common  and  silly  to  play  trade-last." 

"  Oh,  bother  old  Miss  Bina !  "  said  the  disrespect 
ful  Kitty.  "  Well,  I'll  tell  you,  anyhow.  I  heard 


98        LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

mother  tell  Mrs.  Mallard  that  she  thought  you  were 
a  charming  girl,  one  of  the  sweetest  that  she  had 
met  in  a  long  time.  She  said  she  was  glad  we 
had  chosen  you  in  the  club  instead  of  a  younger 
girl,  for  she  thought  you  would  have  a  quieting, 
refining  influence  on  us,  especially  me!  Think  of 
that  now !  Me !  And  she  said  on  that  account  she 
would  like  to  have  you  here  often." 

Again  Lloyd's  hand  met  Ida's  under  the  table 
in  a  quick  squeeze.  "  Something  else  to  write  to 
your  aunt,"  she  whispered. 

Several  pretty  candle-shades,  two  doll  tam-o'- 
shanter  caps,  and  three  calendars  in  water-col 
ours  were  laid  aside  finished,  as  the  result  of  that 
afternoon's  work.  Besides,  Lloyd  and  Betty  had 
each  made  considerable  progress  on  the  centrepieces 
they  had  undertaken  to  embroider,  and  the  maga 
zine-cover  Ida  was  burning  in  an  elaborate  design 
of  dragons  was  half-done.  Allison  packed  the  fin 
ished  articles  away  in  a  hat-box  after  supper,  and 
put  them  up  on  a  shelf  in  her  closet. 

"  Our  first  meeting  has  surely  been  a  success," 
she  exclaimed.  "  At  this  rate  we'll  have  enough 
things  made  by  Easter  to  hold  a  splendid  big  fair. 
We  ought  to  be  able  to  cast  our  shadows  quite 


AT  THE  BEECHES  99 

a  distance  with  the  money  we'll  make,  if  we  do 
this  well  every  time." 

"  Come  cast  your  shadows  on  this  sheet,  girls," 
called  Mrs.  Walton  from  the  next  room,  where  she 
had  pinned  some  strips  of  white  paper  to  a  sheet 
hung  on  the  wall,  and  placed  a  lamp  at  the  proper 
distance  for  making  silhouettes.  "  The  name  of 
your  club  suggested  an  old  amusement  of  ours. 
Come,  see  how  clever  you  are  at  drawing  each 
other's  shadows." 

It  proved  to  be  an  amusing  undertaking,  for  when 
ever  they  laughed  during  the  process,  it  changed 
their  profiles  into  all  sorts  of  ridiculous  outlines. 
But  finally  some  very  creditable  silhouettes  were 
made,  and  each  member  of  the  club  carried  home 
her  own  shadow  as  a  souvenir  of  the  first  meeting. 

Katie's  father  called  for  her  at  half-past  eight, 
and  escorted  the  seminary  girls  as  far  as  the  high 
green  gate. 

"  What  a  perfectly  lovely  time  we've  had ! "  ex 
claimed  Betty,  as  she  and  Lloyd  and  Ida  strolled 
slowly  on  toward  the  house,  when  they  had  bidden 
Katie  and  Mr.  Mallard  good  night. 

"  And  what  a  delicious  suppah  we  had !  "  sighed 
Lloyd.  "  Oh,  if  we  could  only  have  shaded  candles, 
and  pretty  silvah,  and  flowahs  at  bo'ding-school ! 


IOO      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

I'm  so  tiahed  of  that  long  bare  table.  Everything 
tasted  so  good  to-night.  Those  deah  little  beaten 
biscuit  made  me  homesick.  I  haven't  had  any  since 
I  left  Locust." 

"  The  club  is  certainly  an  inspiration  to  do  some 
thing  and  be  something  worth  while,"  said  Betty. 
"  What  Mrs.  Walton  said  at  supper,  and  afterward 
when  she  was  showing  us  the  general's  sword,  made 
me  feel  that  way.  Somehow,  to-night,  the  world 
seems  so  much  lovelier  to  be  in  than  ever  it  did  be 
fore  ;  so  full  of  opportunities,  when  one  little  person 
can  cast  such  a  tremendously  long  shadow."  She 
looked  back  at  hers,  stretching  down  the  path  behind 
her,  in  the  light  from  the  hall  Iamp2  till  it  seemed  the 
length  of  a  giant. 

They  passed  on  into  the  house,  and  up  the  stairs 
together.  As  Betty  went  ahead  to  light  the  lamp 
in  their  room,  Ida  caught  Lloyd  impetuously  around 
the  waist  and  gave  her  a  grateful  hug. 

"  Oh,  Princess,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I've  had  such 
a  happy  day,  and  I  owe  it  all  to  you !  If  it  hadn't 
been  for  you  I'd  have  had  neither  the  visit  to 
The  Beeches  nor  Edwardo's  letter.  You're  such  a 
comfort ! " 


CHAPTER   VI. 

UNINVITED   GUESTS 

"  THIS  is  the  last  day  of  October,"  announced 
Betty ;  one  morning,  tearing  a  leaf  from  the  calendar, 
as  was  her  habit  as  soon  as  she  finished  dressing. 
"  To-night  will  be  Hallowe'en." 

"  Do  you  realize,"  answered  Lloyd,  "  that  we  have 
been  at  school  six  whole  weeks  without  doing  a 
single  thing  we  had  planned  ?  We  have  been  pain 
fully  good.  Yestahday  when  I  passed  the  music- 
room  where  Professah  Steinwig  was  giving  a  violin 
lesson,  I  heard  him  say,  '  Ach,  you  must  let  down 
der  strings  when  you  have  feenish  playing.  If  you 
keep  him  keyed  to  von  high  pitch  alway,  some  day 
bif!  He  go  break!'  That's  just  the  way  I  feel 
this  morning;  that  I've  been  thinking  so  much 
about  my  shadow-self,  and  the  work  we've  undeh- 
taken  for  the  mountain  people,  that  it's  kept  me 
keyed  up  to  too  high  a  pitch  of  goodness.  I've 
got  to  let  down  and  get  into  some  sort  of  mischief, 
or  bif!  I'll  go  break!" 

101 


IO2      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Betty  laughed.  "  Maybe  the  changes  in  the  at 
mosphere  affect  people  as  well  as  fiddle-strings,  and 
it  is  because  it's  Hallowe'en,  and  witches  are  in  the 
air,  that  you  feel  so." 

It"  may  have  been  that  the  faculty  were  of  Betty's 
opinion,  and  felt  the  spell  lurking  in  the  atmosphere. 
Warned  by  some  mysterious  "  pricking  of  the 
thumbs "  of  coming  wickedness,  they  sought  to 
avert  it.  It  was  announced  at  breakfast  that  the 
usual  rules  would  be  suspended  that  night,  and  that 
from  seven  until  eleven  the  resident  pupils  would 
be  at  liberty  to  observe  the  customs  of  Hallowe'en 
anywhere  in  the  building,  and  that  a  spread  of  nuts, 
gingerbread,  and  apples  would  be  furnished  in  the 
gymnasium. 

"  Headed  off  again !  "  exclaimed  one  of  the  larger 
girls  who  sat  near  Lloyd.  "  It's  good  of  them  to 
grant  us  such  privileges,  but  we  won't  have  half 
the  fun  that  we  could  have  had  if  they  hadn't  put 
us  on  our  honour  this  way.  I  had  planned  to  slip 
out  and  go  over  to  Julia  Ferris's  to-night.  Some 
of  the  cadets  from  the  Lyndon  military  school  are 
coming  up.  I  wouldn't  have  hesitated  a  moment 
if  they  had  shut  down  on  our  having  some  fun  here, 
but  now  they've  treated  us  so  handsomely,  even  to 
furnishing  a  spread,  of  course  I  can't  go.  Hallow- 


UNINVITED   GUESTS  1 03 

e'en  is  stupid  with  just  a  lot  of  girls  —  the  same 
old  set  we've  been  going  with  straight  along." 

"  We  might  have  a  masquerade,"  suggested  Susie 
Figgs.  "  That  would  make  us  feel  as  if  we  were 
meeting  strangers." 

The  suggestion  ran  along  the  table  like  wild-fire, 
and  was  so  enthusiastically  received  that  Susie  felt 
herself  a  public  benefactor,  and  beamed  with  im 
portance  the  rest  of  the  day. 

"Oh,  what  shall  /  go  as?"  was  the  despairing 
question  immediately  heard  in  every  quarter,  for 
the  time  was  short  in  which  to  improvise  costumes. 
The  matron  was  besieged  by  distracted  borrowers 
with  requests  for  everything,  from  a  blanket  for 
Pocahontas,  to  a  sunshade  and  watering-pot  for 
"  Mistress  Mary,  quite  contrary." 

Lloyd's  costume  cost  her  little  trouble  aside  from 
borrowing  a  horn  from  one  of  the  children  in  the 
neighbourhood ;  for  Mom  Beck,  coming  in  with  the 
laundry  before  school,  volunteered  her  services.  In 
an  old  chest  in  the  linen-room  at  Locust  were  many 
odds  and  ends  left  over  from  private  theatricals 
and  fancy-dress  occasions.  Mom  Beck  remembered 
an  old  blue  velvet  skirt  that  she  thought  could  be 
made  into  a  suit  for  Little  Boy  Blue  before  night, 
if  Aunt  Cindy's  daughter  would  help  her  with  the 


IO4      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

knickerbockers,  and  hurried  away  to  begin,  carry 
ing  Lloyd's  measure  and  a  Zouave  jacket  belonging 
to  one  of  her  summer  suits,  for  a  pattern. 

From  that  same  chest  came  a  dress  and  hat 
which  Mrs.  Sherman  had  worn  in  a  tableau  years 
before  as  a  Dresden  shepherdess,  which  transformed 
Betty  into  the  prettiest  little  Bo-Peep  that  could 
be  imagined. 

Allison  and  Kitty,  taking  advantage  of  the  re 
laxed  rules,  slipped  up  the  stairs  before  going  home 
after  school,  to  look  at  the  costumes  lying  spread 
out  on  Lloyd's  bed. 

"  I  think  it's  a  shame  that  day  pupils  can't  come, 
too,"  said  Allison,  wrathfully.  "  We're  left  out  all 
around,  for  we're  not  old  enough  to  be  invited  to 
Julia  Ferris's  party.  We  were  going  to  have  a  party 
at  our  house,  but  mother  and  auntie  had  to  go  to 
town  to  stay  all  night.  Aunt  Elise  is  entertaining 
some  old  army  officer's  wife.  So  we  can't  have 
any  fun." 

"  Don't  you  think  that  for  a  moment !  "  exclaimed 
Kitty.  "  Mrs.  Mallard  said  that  Katie  might  come 
and  stay  all  night  with  us.  Mother  telephoned  to 
her  just  before  she  started  to  town." 

A  daring  thought  popped  into  Lloyd's  mind. 
"  Why  don't  you  come  to-night  ?  It's  a  masquerade. 


UNINVITED   GUESTS  10$ 

You  could  slip  in  heah  to  our  room  befoah  they 
unmask,  and  nobody  would  evah  find  out  who  you 
were.  It  couldn't  be  moah  fortunately  arranged. 
Little  Elise  is  in  town  with  yoah  mothah,  and  you 
could  easily  slip  away  from  Barbry  and  the  cook. 
You  could  sleep  in  heah  with  us,  and  run  home 
early  in  the  mawning  befoah  anybody  was  up.  I'll 
unlock  the  doah  at  the  head  of  the  outside  stairs,  and 
you  can  sneak  in  back  way  while  we  are  at 
suppah." 

"  Oh,  how  I'd  love  to!  "  began  Allison,  "  but  I'm 
sure  that  mother  and  Mrs.  Mallard  wouldn't  like 
it,  and  —  " 

"  Now,  Allison,"  interrupted  Kitty,  "  you  know 
that  nobody  ever  told  us  not  to  come,  did  they?  It 
wouldn't  be  disobeying  unless  we'd  been  forbidden." 

"  All  sorts  of  larks  are  allowed  on  Hallowe'en," 
urged  Lloyd.  "  Not  a  soul  outside  of  the  Shadow 
Club  will  know  who  you  are,  and  it  will  be  such  fun 
to  set  everybody  to  guessing  who  you  are  and 
where  you've  gone?  when  you  suddenly  disappear." 

"  Yes,  we'll  come,"  said  Kitty,  seizing  Allison 
by  the  waist  and  dancing  her  toward  the  door.  "  I'll 
take  the  blame  if  there  is  any.  Hurry  up,  old 
Grandma  Prim,  we'll  have  to  hustle.  We've  barely 


106      LITTLE    COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

time  to  run  home  and  eat  our  supper  and  get  dressed 
and  back  here  before  the  affair  begins." 

Kitty's  enthusiasm,  like  an  energetic  young  whirl 
wind,  swept  away  every  objection  her  sister  could 
offer,  and  a  few  minutes  later  they  were  on  their 
way  home,  eagerly  discussing  with  Katie  Mallard 
what  costumes  they  could  get  ready  in  an  hour. 

Lloyd,  who  had  followed  them  to  the  head  of 
the  stairs,  turned  back  to  her  room  with  a  naughty 
thrill  of  enjoyment.  This  escapade  would  add  a 
spice  of  excitement  to  the  evening,  and  she  already 
tingled  with  the  anticipation  of  it.  There  was  a 
mischievous  smile  on  her  face  as  she  walked  down 
the  hall.  But  it  disappeared  as  she  caught  the 
muffled  sound  of  some  one  sobbing.  She  stood 
still  to  listen.  It  seemed  to  come  from  Magnolia 
Budine's  room,  the  door  of  which  stood  ajar. 

Since  the  day  that  the  old  autograph-album  had 
been  put  into  her  hands,  Lloyd  had  felt  a  peculiar 
interest  in  the  child  who  prayed  every  night  that 
some  day  she  might  "  grow  nice  enough  for  the 
Princess  to  like  her."  She  had  showed  this  interest 
by  many  little  attentions  which  kept  Magnolia  in 
a  flutter  of  happiness  for  hours  afterward.  Although 
she  still  coloured  with  embarrassment  to  the  roots 
of  her  flaxen  hair  when  the  Princess  stooped  to 


speak  to  her,  she  no  longer  choked  and  swallowed 
her  chewing-gum.  In  fact,  she  no  longer  chewed, 
since  she  noticed  that  the  Princess  disdained  the 
habit. 

It  was  Elise  who  confided  this  fact  to  Lloyd, 
and  many  other  things  which  not  only  flattered  her 
vanity,  but  aroused  a  real  affection  for  the  ardent 
little  soul  who  showed  her  admiration  by  copying 
her  in  every  way  possible. 

"  She  looks  up  to  me  as  I  look  up  to  Ida,"  thought 
Lloyd.  "  I  ought  to  be  good  to  the  poor  little 
thing." 

As  she  paused  an  instant  in  the  hall,  wondering 
whether  it  would  be  kinder  to  go  in  and  offer  com 
fort  or  to  go  away  showing  no  sign  of  having 
overheard  her  sobs,  it  suddenly  occurred  to  her  what 
was  the  cause  of  Magnolia's  grief.  Probably  she 
had  no  costume  for  the  masquerade.  Nothing  the 
huge  carpet-bag  held  could  be  made  into  one.  There 
was  no  one  to  help  her,  and  she  felt  left  out  of  the 
Hallowe'en  frolic.  Lloyd  hesitated  no  longer.  The 
next  moment  she  was  wiping  Magnolia's  eyes,  and 
restoring  her  to  her  usual  blushing  cheerfulness. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  she  said.  "  We'll 
run  over  to  Clovercroft,  and  ask  Miss  Katherine  to 
lend  us  something.  I  have  to  go,  anyhow,  to  borrow 


IO8      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

a  horn.  Mrs.  Marks  told  me  that  I  could  have  one 
that  Buddy  left  there  last  summah.  He's  one  of  her 
grandchildren.  Miss  Katherine  is  an  artist.  She  has 
a  great  big  camera  in  her  studio,  and  takes  bettah 
pictuahs  than  any  professional  photographah  could, 
because  she  thinks  of  all  sorts  of  beautiful  things 
to  pose  people  for.  She  gets  a  medal  or  a  prize  every 
time  she  places  a  pictuah  on  exhibition,  and  I'm 
suah  she  can  think  of  something  for  you  to  be." 

In  such  a  state  of  rapture  that  she  felt  she  must 
be  dreaming,  Magnolia  followed  Lloyd  down-stairs 
to  ask  the  principal's  permission  to  go  over  to  Clover- 
croft. 

"  I  know  a  place  where  there  are  two  pickets 
loose,"  said  Lloyd,  as  they  hurried  across  the  lawn. 
"  If  you  can  squeeze  through  the  fence  we'll  save 
time.  Every  minute  is  precious  now." 

Breathless  and  panting  from  their  run,  the  chil 
dren  reached  the  side  door  just  as  the  coloured  man 
opened  it  on  his  way  out  for  an  armful  of  wood. 

"  Frazer,  we  want  to  see  Miss  Katherine,"  an 
nounced  Lloyd,  who  was  enough  at  home  at  Clover- 
croft  to  know  all  the  servants. 

"  She's  in  the  music-room,  Miss  Lloyd,"  he  an 
swered.  "  You  all  kin  walk  right  in." 

"  Is  there  any  company  there?    We  want  to  see 


UNINVITED   GUESTS  1 09 

her  alone,"  said  Lloyd,  with  a  dignified  air  that 
made  Magnolia  look  at  her  admiringly. 

"  No'm,  jes'  she  an'  her  maw,  listenin'  to  Miss 
Flora  play."  He  held  the  door  open  for  them  to 
enter,  and  motioned  toward  the  music-room  door, 
which  stood  ajar.  A  bright  fire  blazed  on  the  white 
tiled  hearth.  On  one  side  sat  a  gentle,  sweet-faced 
lady  in  black ;  "  Buddy's  grandmother,"  thought 
Magnolia,  as  she  noticed  her  gray  hair.  On  the 
other  side,  on  a  low  stool,  with  her  hands  clasped 
over  her  knees,  sat  Miss  Katherine,  looking  into 
the  embers.  The  firelight  shone  on  her  red  dress, 
and  cast  a  rosy  glow  to  every  part  of  the  cheerful 
room.  Both  were  listening  so  intently  to  the  soft 
nocturne  that  Miss  Flora  was  playing,  that  Lloyd's 
knock  made  them  start  with  surprise. 

"  Well,  well !  It's  the  Little  Colonel !  "  exclaimed 
the  lady  in  black,  holding  out  her  hand  to  welcome 
her.  "  Come  up  to  the  fire,  my  dear.  Both  of 
you."  She  smiled  reassuringly  at  Magnolia,  who 
leaned  against  a  chair  by  the  door?  staring  around 
her  with  big  blue  eyes,  like  a  frightened  kitten. 

Lloyd  plunged  into  her  story  at  once,  for  the  time 
was  too  short  to  stand  on  ceremony.  At  the  mention 
of  costumes  Miss  Katherine  was  all  attention,  and 
turned  to  Magnolia  with  critical  interest. 


IIO      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

"  Suppose  you  take  her  hair  out  of  those  tight 
little  tails,"  she  suggestedz  "  and  let  me  see  how  long 
it  is." 

Lloyd  obeyed  instantly,  and  the  soft,  light  hair, 
released  from  its  plaits,  stood  out  in  a  short,  frizzy 
crop,  reaching  only  a  little  below  her  collar.  It 
was  very  becoming.  Lloyd  was  amazed  at  the  change 
it  made  in  the  child's  appearance. 

"  The  very  thing  I  want  for  my  Knave  of 
Hearts !  "  cried  Miss  Katherine,  clasping  her  hands 
enthusiastically,  and  turning  toward  her  mother. 
"  I  am  illustrating  that  old  jingle  about  the  Queen 
of  Hearts  who  made  some  tarts  upon  a  summer 
day.  I've  a  lovely  picture  for  the  queen,  but  I 
haven't  been  able  to  find  a  suitable  boy  for  the 
knave  '  who  spied  those  tarts  and  stole  them  all 
away.'  But  there  she  stands.  Her  hair  is  exactly 
the  right  length,  and  she's  so  fat  and  cute  that  if 
I  can  just  get  her  to  roll  those  round  blue  eyes  the 
way  I  want  them,  it  will  make  a  perfect  love  of 
a  picture." 

"  But  the  costume,"  suggested  Mrs.  Marks.  "  It 
is  so  elaborate,  and  the  time  is  short." 

Miss  Katherine  looked  at  the  clock.  "  One  can 
do  wonders  in  an  hour,"  she  said,  and  burying  her 
face  in  her  hands  a  moment,  she  thought  intently. 


UNINVITED   GUESTS  III 

"  Genius  burns,"  she  announced  in  a  moment, 
looking  up  at  her  sister.  "  Where's  that  little  white 
duck  suit  that  Lucien  outgrew  and  left  here  one 
summer?  I  saved  it  for  just  such  an  emergency. 
I'm  sure  it  will  fit  her." 

"  Packed  away  in  the  tower-room,"  answered 
Miss  Flora.  "  I  know  just  where  to  put  my  hand 
on  it,  though.  Is  there  anything  else  you  want 
while  I  am  up  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,  some  scraps  of  red  velvet  if  there  are  any 
left  in  the  piece-bag.  I  have  everything  else  we'll 
need,  in  the  studio.  That  red  canton  flannel  I  some 
times  use  for  draping  backgrounds,  will  make  a 
long  flowing  cape  to  hang  from  the  back  of  his  neck 
and  sweep  the  ground  behind  him." 

Magnolia  felt  as  if  she  were  a  big  doll  as  she  was 
handed  around  from  one  fo  another  in  the  trying 
on  process,  when  Miss  Flora  came  back  with  the 
suit.  It  did  fit  her  passably  well,  and  she  and  Lloyd 
were  set  to  work  at  once,  cutting  out  dozens  of  red 
velvet  hearts. 

"  Makes  me  think  of  the  time  that  I  was  the  Queen 
of  Hearts  at  Gingah's  valentine  pah'ty,  and  the  old 
bear  that  the  boys  tied  to  the  bedpost  frightened 
us  neahly  to  death,"  said  Lloyd. 

Snip,  snip  went  both  pair  of  scissors,  and  as  fast 


112      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

as  the  hearts  were  cut,  Miss  Katherine  and  Miss 
Flora  sewed  them  on  to  the  little  white  duck  blouse 
and  knickerbockers.  Even  Mrs.  Marks  helped, 
fastening  frills  of  black  ribbon  and  great  gilt  buck 
les  on  some  old  red  house-slippers  of  Buddy's.  It 
grew  dark  while  they  worked.  Frazer  lighted  the 
lamps  and  piled  more  wood  on  the  fire,  and  Lloyd 
began  to  think  uneasily  that  the  supper-bell  would 
be  ringing  at  the  seminary  soon. 

But  in  shorter  time  than  seemed  possible,  every 
thing  was  done.  When  Magnolia  was  led  to  the 
long  hall  mirror  to  look  at  herself,  she  was  unable 
to  believe  that  what  she  saw  was  her  own  re 
flection.  It  looked  like  some  bright-coloured  illus 
tration  taken  from  a  lovely  picture-book. 

Red  hearts  dotted  the  white  duck  suit,  and  white 
hearts  the  long  red  cape  which  trailed  gracefully 
from  her  shoulders.  A  funny  little  crown  copied 
in  red  and  white  pasteboard  from  the  one  they 
found  on  the  Jack  of  Hearts  in  a  deck  of  cards, 
rested  on  the  short,  light  hair,  curling  up  around  her 
ears.  There  were  lace  ruffles  at  her  wrists,  and 
a  tin  sword  at  her  side,  and  in  her  outstretched 
hands  a  little  pie-tin,  borrowed  from  the  cook. 

"  Turn  your  head  to  one  side,  as  if  you  were 
looking  over  your  shoulder/'  commanded  Miss 


UNINVITED   GUESTS  113 

Katherine,  "  and  hold  the  tart  up  high  in  front. 
Now  lift  your  feet  and  sway  back  as  if  you  were 
cake-walking.  There,  mamma,  isn't  that  a  perfect 
reproduction  of  the  picture  in  our  old  Mother 
Goose  ?  I'm  charmed !  " 

The  dropping  of  the  tight-waisted,  old-fashioned 
blue  dress  for  this  story-book  attire  changed  the 
child's  appearance  so  completely  that  she  looked 
into  the  mirror  half-frightened,  feeling  that  her 
old  self  had  run  away  from  her.  But  there  were 
Mrs.  Marks  and  Miss  Flora  exclaiming  "  How 
pretty !  "  and  the  Princess  clapping  her  hands  and 
fluttering  around  her,  calling  out  that  she  was  per 
fectly  lovely,  and  made  the  darlingest  little  Knave 
of  Hearts  that  ever  was  seen,  and  Miss  Katherine 
saying  that  if  she  would  come  over  the  next  day 
at  noon  she  would  take  her  photograph. 

No  one  had  even  called  her  pretty  before, 
and  she  had  never  had  her  picture  taken.  Her  eyes 
sparkled  and  her  face  lighted  up  as  she  turned  again 
to  the  mirror. 

"  You  and  Betty  come  over  to-morrow,  too,"  said 
Miss  Katherine  to  Lloyd,  as  she  buttoned  up  the 
blue  dress  again,  so  that  Magnolia  could  go  back 
to  supper.  "  I'd  like  to  add  Boy  Blue  and  Bo-Peep 
to  my  Mother  Goose  gallery." 


114      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

It  was  dark  when  Lloyd  and  Magnolia  squeezed 
through  the  fence  again  and  ran  up  the  stairs  to  the 
room.  As  Lloyd  passed  the  portiere  at  the  end 
of  the  hall  she  pushed  it  aside  and  drew  back  the 
boltj  as  she  had  promised  Kitty  to  do.  They  had 
barely  time  to  lay  their  bundles  on  Magnolia's  bed 
when  the  supper-bell  rang,  and  they  ran  down  to 
the  dining-room.  Lloyd  was  all  aglow  with  excite 
ment  and  pleasure  over  the  success  of  the  last  hour's 
work,  but  Magnolia  had  shrunk  back  into  the  same 
timid  little  creature  she  was  before  her  transfor 
mation.  She  had  put  her  hair  back  into  the  tight 
little  tails  again  before  leaving  Clovercroft,  so  that 
her  disguise  would  be  the  more  complete  when  she 
unloosed  it  and  appeared  as  the  little  knave. 

Meantime,  Allison  and  Kitty,  hurrying  home  with 
their  guest,  had  delighted  Norah  by  a  demand  for 
early  supper.  She  and  Barbry  were  expecting  some 
friends  from  Rollington,  a  little  Irish  village  near 
the  Valley,  and  would  be  glad  to  be  through  with 
their  work  an  hour  earlier  than  usual. 

"  And  you  needn't  light  up  for  us  down-stairs, 
except  in  the  dining-room,"  said  Allison,  "  for  we're 
going  straight  to  our  rooms  after  supper,  and  we 
don't  want  to  be  disturbed  till  to-morrow  morning." 

"  Very    well,    miss,"    answered    Barbry,    who, 


UNINVITED   GUESTS 

a  middle-aged  woman,  was  the  most  trustworthy  of 
well-trained  maids.  Mrs.  Walton  never  felt  any 
hesitancy  in  leaving  the  children  in  her  care. 

"  And  —  oh,  Barbry,"  said  Allison,  as  she  turned 
to  leave  the  room.  "  To-night  is  Hallowe'en,  and 
they  say  the  witches  are  out  and  ghosts  rise  out 
of  their  graves.  What  is  that  tale  they  tell  about 
a  ghost  that  used  to  be  seen  about  the  seminary 
grounds  ?  " 

"  Sure,  an'  your  mother  would  be  afther  gettin' 
angry  if  I  rilled  your  heads  with  such  nonsense. 
Who  said  there  was  ever  a  ghost  at  all  in  the 
Valley?" 

But  after  much  teasing  Barbry  allowed  herself 
to  be  persuaded  into  telling  a  tale  that  had  been 
afloat  for  years,  of  the  little  woman  in  gray  who 
had  once  owned  the  land  on  which  the  seminary 
was  built.  She  lived  all  alone,  and  was  an  odd 
character.  Her  peculiar  mode  of  living,  and  the 
mystery  surrounding  her  death,  gave  rise  to 
the  rumour  that  her  spirit  still  haunted  the  seminary 
grounds.  It  was  said  that  the  little  woman  never 
appeared  in  public  without  a  gray  veil,  and  her 
wraith  was  recognized  by  the  long  gauzy  covering 
floating  loosely  back  from  its  face,  not  gray  but 
white,  as  more  becoming  a  spirit. 


Il6      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

No  sooner  had  Barbry  finished  her  tale  than  Alli 
son  beckoned  the  girls  to  follow,  and  led  the  way 
up-stairs  to  the  sewing-room.  "  I  thought  at  first 
I'd  just  put  a  pillow-case  over  my  head  and  wrap 
up  in  a  sheet,  but  I'm  going  to  make  the  girls 
think  I'm  the  real  article.  How  will  this  do?" 

Taking  a  roll  of  cotton  from  one  of  the  shelves, 
she  pinned  it  over  her  hair  to  make  a  short  white 
wig,  powdered  her  face  till  it  was  as  white  as  the 
cotton,  and  over  it  all  threw  a  long  piece  of  tulle, 
which  she  brought  from  a  bureau  drawer  in  her 
room.  "  Aunt  Elise  gave  it  to  me  last  time  I 
was  in  town,"  she  said.  "  She  had  yards  and  yards 
of  it  that  had  been  used  some  way  in  decorating 
with  lilies  for  a  luncheon.  Wait  till  I  wrap  a  sheet 
around  me.  Now  how  do  I  look  ?  " 

"  Perfectly  awful !  "  exclaimed  Kitty,  gazing  at 
her  in  fascinated  wonder  that  flesh  and  blood  could 
look  so  truly  ghost-like.  Katie  hid  her  eyes  with 
a  little  scream. 

"  Don't  look  at  me  that  way,"  she  begged.  "  If 
you  are  this  terrifying  in  daylight  to  people  who 
know  who  you  are,  what  will  you  be  at  night  ?  " 

Well  satisfied  with  the  effect  she  had  produced, 
Allison  folded  up  the  veil,  carefully  removed  the 
wig,  and  washed  the  powder  from  her  face,  while 


UNINVITED   GUESTS 

Kitty  and  Katie  rummaged  in  the  drawers  for  some 
old,  long-sleeved  gingham  aprons  that  had  been 
discarded  long  ago.  They  had  decided  to  go  as 
rag  dolls,  as  that  would  be  the  most  complete  dis 
guise  they  could  think  of.  Even  their  hair  would 
be  covered,  and  they  would  not  need  to  speak. 

"  It  will  be  terribly  hot  with  all  that  cotton  stuffed 
about  our  heads  and  necks,"  said  katie.  "  But  we'll 
look  so  funny.  And  we  must  hold  ourselves  limp 
and  lean  up  against  things  or  flop  over,  just  as 
real  rag  dolls  do." 

"  Here  are  the  aprons,"  cried  Kitty,  at  last. 
"  See  ?  They'll  fit  up  close  around  the  neck  and 
hide  the  place  where  the  muslin  that  covers  our 
head  is  tied  on." 

"  I'll  paint  the  faces  on  you  the  last  thing  before 
we  start,"  said  Allison. 

"  Mercy  me !  Allison !  "  exclaimed  Katie.  "  We 
can't  walk  down  past  the  depot  and  the  store  rigged 
up  that  way,  even  if  it  is  dark.  Somebody  might 
think  we  were  escaped  freaks,  and  chase  us.  We 
ought  to  wait  till  we  get  to  the  seminary  before 
we  dress." 

"  No,  there  won't  be  time  then,  and  everybody 
will  know  it's  only  a  Hallowe'en  frolic.  If  Kitty 
wears  her  golf-cape  and  you  wear  mine,  and  pull 


Il8      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

the  hoods  away  over  your  faces^  nobody  will  notice. 
I'll  not  dress  till  afterward,  for  I'm  not  going  to 
appear  till  the  middle  of  the  evening.  I'm  not 
going  to  go  up  to  the  gymnasium  at  all,  but  just 
glide  around  on  the  outskirts  and  lay  a  cold  finger 
on  some  one  now  and  then.  I'll  get  a  lump  of 
ice  out  of  the  cooler  if  I  can  manage  to  slip  into 
the  dining-room.  Now  if  you'll  bring  me  the  scis 
sors  I'll  cut  the  muslin  and  fit  it  over  your  heads." 

Mrs.  Walton,  sorry  that  her  absence  would  de 
prive  the  girls  of  their  anticipated  Hallowe'en 
party,  compensated  for  their  disappointment  as  far 
as  possible  by  ordering  an  unusually  delicious  little 
supper  for  them  and  their  guest. 

"  Isn't  it  too  tantalizing !  "  exclaimed  Kitty,  when 
Barbry  had  left  the  room  for  some  hot  biscuits. 
"  Here's  everything  I  like  best,  and  I'm  in  such 
a  hurry  and  so  excited  that  I  can  hardly  choke 
down  a  mouthful." 

"  Don't  talk,  then,"  commanded  Allison.  "  Just 
eat!" 

The  meal  proceeded  in  silence  for  a  few  moments, 
but  the  silence  itself  grew  funny  as  they  thought 
of  the  ludicrous  figures  they  would  soon  present, 
and  they  began  to  giggle. 

The  giggles  grew  into  shrieks  of  laughter  a  little 


UNINVITED   GUESTS  1 19 

later,  when  they  had  gone  up-stairs,  and  the  two 
rag  dolls,  all  stuffed,  painted,  and  dressed,  leaned 
limply  against  the  wall  and  leered  at  each  other. 
Even  their  hands  looked  comical,  covered  in  white 
woollen  gloves,  each  finger  held  stiffly  out  from  the 
other.  After  one  glance  Allison  rolled  on  the  bed, 
holding  her  sides,  laughing  and  gasping  in  turn. 

"  Oh,  dear !  Oh,  dear !  "  she  exclaimed,  finally, 
sitting  up  and  wiping  her  eyes  and  then  going  off 
into  a  fresh  paroxysm  of  laughter  as  she  looked 
at  them  again.  "  I  never  saw  anything  so  funny 
in  my  life.  The  girls  will  simply  shriek  when  they 
see  you." 

Norah  and  Barbry,  sitting  over  their  own  supper, 
heard  the  laughing  far  down  in  the  kitchen.  They 
looked  at  each  other  and  smiled,  and  then,  as  the 
contagious  sound  continued,  laughed  themselves. 
The  merriment  was  irresistible.  But  a  little  later, 
busy  with  their  preparations  for  their  coming 
friends,  they  did  not  notice  that  the  house  grew 
strangely  still,  and  that  not  another  sound  came 
from  the  rooms  above  all  that  evening. 

Kitty's  room  adjoined  Allison's.  Bolting  the  door 
which  opened  into  her  mother's,  on  the  inside,  she 
passed  through  Allison's  with  Katie,  and  out  into 
the  hall.  Then  Allison  locked  her  door  on  the 


I2O      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

outside  and  hid  the  key  under  the  hall  rug.  Creep 
ing  down  the  stairs,  they  stole  out  at  the  side  door, 
locked  it  after  them,  and  hid  the  key  inside  a  large 
flower-pot  on  the  porch. 

"  That's  safer  than  carrying  it,"  said  Allison. 
"  We'd  be  sure  to  lose  it,  and  then  we  would  be  in 
a  pretty  pickle." 

The  moon,  overcast  by  shifting  clouds,  was  just 
beginning  to  throw  a  faint,  ghostly  glimmer  over 
the  Valley  as  the  girls  hurried  out. 

"  Let's  go  back  way  until  we  are  past  grand 
mother's  gate,"  said  Kitty.  Edgewood,  Mrs.  Mac- 
Intyre's  place,  was  just  across  from  The  Beeches, 
and  some  one  was  strolling  up  the  avenue  toward 
it.  "  Uncle  Harry,"  whispered  Allison,  crouching 
down  in  the  shadow  of  a  tree  until  he  had  gone  in. 

Rustling  along  in  the  dry  leaves,  they  passed  the 
rear  of  the  cottage  next  door,  the  manse,  and  the 
little  stone  church.  That  brought  them  out  into 
the  wide,  open  space  below  the  ridge,  where  the 
lights  gleamed  from  every  window  in  the  Soldiers' 
Home.  The  girls  drew  their  hoods  closer  over 
their  faces  as  they  hurried  across  the  churchyard, 
out  through  the  iron  gate  into  the  road. 

"  It  makes  me  think  of  the  night  we  had  a  Hallow 
e'en  party  at  the  haunted  house  of  Hartwell  Hollow," 


UNINVITED    GUESTS  121 

said  Katie,  looking  up  at  the  bare  branches  over 
head,  which  were  beginning  to  toss  in  the  rising 
wind.  Then  she  clapped  a  white-gloved  hand  over 
her  rag  mouth  to  choke  back  a  giggle.  Kitty  had 
begun  holding  her  arms  in  the  aimless  fashion  pe 
culiar  to  rag  dolls,  and  was  walking  along  as  if  she 
had  no  bones. 

"  For  goodness'  sake,  behave  yourself,"  begged 
Allison.  "  Don't  get  us  to  laughing  out  here  on 
the  road !  " 

Kitty  straightened  up  as  they  passed  the  deserted 
post-office,  and  they  quickened  their  pace  until  they 
were  safely  beyond  the  store  and  the  depot.  A 
moment  later  they  had  passed  through  the  wood 
land  gate  of  Clovercroft,  raced  along  the  path  below 
the  ice-house,  and  were  squeezing  through  the  gap 
in  the  picket  fence  to  the  seminary  grounds. 

"  They  must  be  almost  through  supper,"  whis 
pered  Katie,  peeping  in  at  one  of  the  dining-room 
windows,  over  which  the  blind  had  not  been  entirely 
drawn.  "  With  all  that  laughing  and  talking  they'll 
never  hear  us  go  up  the  stairs.  We  can  make  as 
much  noise  as  we  please." 

A  dim  light  burned  in  the  upper  hall,  but  no 
lamp  was  lighted  in  Betty  and  Lloyd's  room. 

"  Let's    not    make    any,"     suggested     Allison. 


122      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  They'll  think  we  haven't  come.  Let's  hide  and 
see  what  they  do  when  they  suddenly  discover  us." 

As  she  spoke  there  was  a  sound  of  many  feet 
in  the  lower  hall,  then  on  the  stairs,  and  an  unusual 
buzz  of  voices.  The  girls  were  scattering  to  their 
rooms  to  dress  for  the  masquerade. 

"  Hurry !  "  gasped  Allison,  stooping  down  behind 
a  tall  rocking-chair.  Kitty  rolled  under  one  bed 
and  Katie  under  the  other,  and  there  they  lay  wait 
ing,  trying  to  stifle  the  giggles  which  nearly  choked 
them. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE 

"  I'LL  make  a  light,"  said  Betty,  groping  across 
the  room  with  a  handful  of  matches  which  she  had 
taken  from  the  box  in  the  hall.  Lloyd  started  to 
follow,  but,  stumbling  over  a  footstool,  felt  her 
way  to  the  bed  and  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  it 
to  wait  for  a  light.  On  the  way  up  from  supper 
she  had  started  to  repeat  a  funny  story  which  she 
had  heard  at  Clovercroft  that  afternoon,  and  she 
kept  on  with  it  as  Betty,  having  found  her  way  to 
the  table,  struck  a  match.  But  she  stopped  again, 
as  the  match  went  out  with  a  sudden  puff,  as  if  a 
strong  draught  had  blown  it. 

"  There !  It  never  fails  to  do  that  when  I'm  in 
a  hurry,"  exclaimed  Betty,  striking  another  match 
as  she  spoke.  It  was  extinguished  as  suddenly  as 
the  first.  She  tried  another  and  another  with  the 
same  result. 

"  How  strange!  "  she  said,  wonderingly.  "  There 
isn't  a  window  open  anywhere,  is  there?" 

123 


124      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  It's  the  witches,"  declared  Lloyd,  laughing. 
"  There  must  be  one  standing  there  by  yoah  elbow.'* 

The  laugh  ended  in  a  piercing  shriek  as  she  felt 
something  clutch  her  ankle.  "  Murdah !  Murdah !  " 
she  yelled.  "  Ow !  There's  something  awful  undah 
the  bed !  It  grabbed  me  by  the  foot !  Ow !  Ow !  " 

"  Hush  up,  goosey ! "  commanded  a  familiar 
voice,  and  as  Betty  struck  her  fifth  and  last  match, 
which  burned  steadily,  they  saw  Allison  dashing  to 
the  door  to  lock  it.  Doors  were  opening  all  along 
the  corridors,  and  footsteps  hurrying  from  every 
direction  in  response  to  Lloyd's  terrified  cry. 

"  Tell  them  that  it's  all  right!  That  it's  only  a 
Hallowe'en  scare,"  demanded  Allison,  in  a  stage 
whisper.  "  Don't  let  them  in.  I  blew  out  the 
matches,  and  it's  only  Kitty  and  Katie  under  the 
beds." 

"  It's  all  right,"  called  Lloyd,  in  a  quavering  tone, 
but  the  matron's  knock  was  imperative,  and  Betty, 
beckoning  the  girls  frantically  toward  the  closet, 
fumbled  with  the  bolt  until  they  had  whisked  into 
hiding.  The  one  brief  glimpse  of  the  rag  dolls, 
falling  over  each  other  in  their  mad  haste  to  escape, 
was  so  comical  that  both  Lloyd  and  Betty  were 
choking  with  laughter  when  the  matron  entered. 
They  could  hardly  control  their  voices  while  they 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE  12$ 

tried  to  tell  her  how  the  matches  had  gone  out  and 
Lloyd  had  imagined  that  there  were  witches  in  the 
room. 

Smiling  indulgently  at  their  foolishness,  which 
she  attributed  to  the  excitement  of  the  occasion, 
the  matron  withdrew.  She  could  hear  them  still 
laughing  when  she  passed  through  the  hall  again, 
several  minutes  later,  for  the  rag  dolls,  coming  out 
of  the  closet  as  soon  as  she  disappeared,  began  tak 
ing  one  ridiculous  pose  after  another,  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor.  The  solemn  silence  in  which  they 
struck  their  limp,  boneless  attitudes,  made  the  scene 
all  the  funnier,  and  as  the  girls  looked  at  the  sur 
prised  expressions  Allison  had  painted  on  the  flat 
muslin  faces,  they  went  into  such  hysterical  laughter 
that  the  tears  streamed  down  their  faces. 

"  Oh,  girls,  do  stop !  "  begged  Lloyd,  finally,  wip 
ing  her  eyes.  "  I've  laughed  till  I  ache,  and  it's 
time  for  me  to  dress,  for  I  promised  Magnolia  to 
help  her  into  her  costume." 

Katie  and  Kitty  subsided  into  a  heap  on  the 
divan.  "  Could  you  have  told  who  we  were  if  you 
hadn't  known  we  were  coming?  "  asked  Katie. 

"  Never  in  the  world,"  answered  Betty.  "  I 
couldn't  tell  which  is  which  now,  if  it  were  not  for 
your  voices." 


126      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  We're  not  going  to  say  a  word  to  any  one," 
said  Katie.  "  We  oughtn't  to  talk,  you  know,  if 
we  carry  out  our  part  as  it  should  be.  We'll  slip 
up  into  the  gymnasium  pretty  soon,  and  be  sitting 
on  the  floor  in  a  corner  when  the  others  come  up. 
We'll  lop  around  and  watch  the  fun  till  the  unmask 
ing  begins,  then  we'll  come  down  here  and  wait 
for  the  rest  of  you." 

All  the  time  they  had  been  performing,  Allison 
had  been  busy  before  the  mirror,  and  now  turned 
around  in  her  spectral  attire. 

"  The  ghost  of  the  veiled  lady ! "  cried  Lloyd. 
"  Oh,  Allison2  yoah  make-up  is  splendid.  You're 
enough  to  freeze  the  blood  in  one's  veins.  There 
couldn't  be  anything  moah  spooky-looking  than  that 
thin  tulle  veil.  I  wish  Mom  Beck  could  see  you. 
I've  heard  her  talking  about  that  queah  little  woman 
whose  house  used  to  stand  where  the  seminary  cel- 
lah  is  dug  now,  till  I  couldn't  close  my  eyes  at  night. 
All  the  darkies  believe  she  still  haunts  the  place." 

Betty  had  never  heard  the  story,  so  Allison  re 
peated  it  while  she  dressed,  adding,  "  You  two  must 
do  all  you  can  to  spread  the  report  that  I'm  lurking 
around.  You  have  seen  me  yourself,  you  know. 
If  I  had  my  lump  of  ice,  you'd  soon  feel  the  touch' 
of  my  clammy  ringers.  I  wish  you'd  give  me  a 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE  I2/ 

piece  of  newspaper  to  wrap  it  in,  Betty.     Then  it 
won't  drip." 

"  I  wish  we  could  carry  a  lump  of  ice  around  with 
us,"  gasped  Kitty.  "  All  this  cotton  packed  around 
my  head  and  neck  makes  me  so  hot  I  can  scarcely 
breathe." 

Miss  Edith  and  Mrs.  Celling,  putting  the  finish 
ing  touches  to  the  decorations  in  the  gymnasium, 
looked  around,  well  pleased.  A  score  of  jack-o'- 
lanterns  grinned  sociably  from  the  brackets  between 
the  windows.  Two  more  kept  guard  on  each  side 
of  the  piano,  and  at  least  a  dozen  lighted  the  long 
table  stretched  across  one  end  of  the  room,  on  which 
the  spread  was  arranged.  Graceful  sprays  of  bitter 
sweet-vine  trailed  their  bright  berries  over  the  white 
cloth.  A  huge  pumpkin-bowl  piled  with  grapes 
formed  the  centrepiece.  A  pitcher  of  sweet  cider 
stood  at  each  end,  and  nuts,  persimmons,  pop-corn 
balls,  gingerbread,  and  apples  filled  all  the  space 
between. 

"  It  is  well  worth  the  trouble,"  said  Miss  Edith, 
lighting  the  last  candle.  "  The  girls  will  enjoy  it 
thoroughly." 

Some  one  called  both  teachers  from  the  room  just 
then,  and  in  their  absence  two  uninvited  guestsr 


128      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

who  had  been  waiting  behind  the  door,  hurried  in 
and  seated  themselves  on  the  floor  in  the  dimmest 
corner. 

"  I  should  say  it  is  worth  the  trouble,"  whispered 
one  rag  doll  to  the  other,  as  they  looked  around 
the  room  at  the  fantastic  decorations.  "  It's  lots 
more  fun  coming  here  this  way,  than  having  the 
party  at  home,  and  it's  more  fun  than  if  we'd  been 
invited." 

"  I'm  nearly  roasted,"  panted  the  other  one,  "  but 
I'm  glad  I'm  here.  Oh,  how  pretty !  " 

It  was  the  entrance  of  one  of  the  older  girls  in 
court  train  and  powdered  hair  that  caused  the  ex 
clamation,  and  while  they  were  trying  to  guess 
who  it  could  be,  the  others  began  to  arrive.  Old 
King  Cole  and  Pocahontas  came  in  arm  in  arm, 
followed  by  Red  Riding  Hood  and  a  brownie,  while 
Puss  in  Boots  proudly  escorted  Aladdin  with  his 
lamp. 

Little  Bo-Peep  and  Boy  Blue  were  soon  recog 
nized,  for  Betty  had  made  no  attempt  to  hide  the 
brown  curls  which  helped  to  make  her  such  a  pretty 
little  Dresden  shepherdess;  and  while  Lloyd  had 
gathered  up  her  long,  light  hair  under  the  wide- 
brimmed  hat  with  its  blue  ribbon,  every  graceful 
gesture  and  every  step  she  took,  holding  herself 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE 

erect  with  a  proud  lifting  of  the  head,  proclaimed 
the  Little  Colonel. 

For  once  in  her  short  life,  little  Magnolia  Budine 
tasted  the  sweets  of  social  success,  for  no  one  there 
was  more  popular  or  more  admired  than  the  saucy 
Knave  of  Hearts.  With  the  putting  on  of  the 
costume  she  had  put  on  a  courage  and  self-posses 
sion  that  never  could  have  been  assumed  with  the 
old-fashioned  tight-waisted  blue  merino  and  the 
stiff  short  tails  of  hair.  Grasping  the  stolen  tart 
firmly  in  her  chubby  hands,  and  lifting  the  little 
slippers  with  their  huge  bows  and  buckles  in  the 
high,  mincing  step  Miss  Katherine  had  taught  her, 
ohe  swaggered  coquettishly  up  and  down  the  room, 
her  red  mantle  sweeping  behind  her.  Wherever  she 
went  a  flock  of  admiring  girls  crowded  around  her. 

For  many  a  month  afterward  her  red  and  white 
crown  hung  over  her  mirror,  not  only  as  a  souvenir 
of  the  jolly  revel,  but  as  a  token  that  for  one  night, 
at  least,  she  had  found  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Princess.  Not  only  had  Lloyd  circled  around  her 
when  she  was  dressed,  exclaiming  again  that  she 
looked  perfectly  lovely,  but  when  they  chose  partners 
for  the  ghost-walk,  to  march  solemnly  through  the 
halls  to  the  slow  music  of  the  Dead  March,  the 
Princess  had  chosen  her.  Lloyd  had  looked  around 


I3O      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

for  Ida,  who  had  come  as  a  Puritan  Maid ;  but  the 
cap  and  kerchief  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  She 
had  evidently  grown  tired  of  the  affair  and  gone 
to  her  room. 

Magnolia  did  not  know  that  she  was  second 
choice.  Her  cup  of  happiness  was  overflowing 
when  Boy  Blue  turned  away  from  Aladdin  and  Red 
Riding  Hood,  who  were  both  trying  to  claim  her, 
and  said,  "  No,  this  little  Knave  must  be  my  partner. 
He  has  stolen  my  heart  as  well  as  the  queen's  tarts." 

In  their  corner  near  the  piano  Kitty  and  Katie 
sat  stiffly  against  the  wall,  seemingly  incapable  of 
moving  themselves.  Several  times  some  of  the 
larger  girls  made  an  attempt  to  lift  them,  and  in 
whatever  position  they  fell  when  they  were  dropped, 
they  lay  with  hands  thrust  out  and  heads  lolling  to 
one  side.  There  was  a  laughing  crowd  around  them 
continually. 

"  Oh,  my  country ! "  gasped  Katie,  as  the  first 
solemn  chords  of  the  Dead  March  struck  her  ear  and 
all  light  in  the  room  was  suddenly  extinguished 
except  what  gleamed  from  the  eyes  and  mouths  of 
the  jack-o'-lanterns.  "  They've  gone  and  dragged 
in  old  Sally,  the  skeleton.  It's  bad  enough  to 
hear  her  bones  rattle  in  the  physiology  class  in  the 
daytime;  but  this  is  more  than  I  bargained  for." 


"•THIS    LITTLE    KNAVE    MUST   BE    MY    PARTNER.'" 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE  13! 

"  Now  is  the  time  for  us  to  go,"  whispered  Kitty. 
"  They'll  unmask  soon.  We've  seen  how  they  all 
look  and  set  them  to  guessing,  and  we'd  better  miss 
the  refreshments  than  run  the  risk  of  being  dis 
covered." 

Katie  eyed  the  table  wishfully.  "  It  seems  a  pity 
to  miss  all  that  spread.  Couldn't  we  creep  around 
the  wall  to  the  far  side  and  slip  something  into  our 
apron  pockets?  The  cloth  is  so  long  it  would  hide 
us." 

"  What's  to  hinder  our  getting  under  the  table 
and  staying  through  the  whole  performance?  "  sug 
gested  Kitty.  "  The  cloth  comes  nearly  to  the  floor, 
and  I  don't  believe  anybody  would  think  of  looking 
under  it.  Then  we  could  hear  them  wonder  who 
we  are  and  where  we've  disappeared  to  when  they 
unmask  and  we  are  missing." 

"  Quick,  then,  while  their  backs  are  turned !  "  ex 
claimed  Katie,  not  waiting  to  consider  consequences 
or  means  of  escape  later  in  the  evening.  Slowly, 
solemnly,  with  measured  tread,  the  long  procession 
filed  by,  and,  wheeling  to  the  music,  started  back 
toward  the  other  end  of  the  long  gymnasium. 

Creeping  on  hands  and  knees,  fearful  lest  some 
backward  glance  might  discover  them  should  they 
stand  erect,  the  two  girls,  like  wary  mice,  scuttled 


132      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

across  the  room  and  disappeared  under  the  shelter 
ing  table-cloth. 

Grown  bold  with  their  successful  venture,  Kitty 
proposed  that  each  time  the  procession  turned  away 
from  them,  they  should  reach  out  and  grab  some 
thing  from  the  table.  It  was  an  exciting  perform 
ance.  Time  after  time,  as  the  motley  figures  turned 
their  backs,  two  ludicrous  heads  popped  up  above 
the  table,  and  four  white  woollen  gloves  clawed 
hastily  at  different  dishes.  When  the  marauders 
dropped  from  sight  the  last  time2  there  was  a  goodly 
store  of  provisions  gathered  up  in  each  gingham 
apron. 

"  I  wouldn't  have  missed  this  for  anything,"  gig 
gled  Katie  some  time  later,  when  the  unmasking 
began,  and  the  girls  crowded  around  the  table  for 
nuts  and  apples  with  which  to  try  their  fortunes. 
In  such  a  babel  of  voices  there  was  no  danger  of 
being  overheard. 

"  Listen !  we  can  tell  from  the  different  remarks 
who  every  one  represented,"  they  whispered  to  each 
other. 

"  Oh,  Evelyn  Ward,  I  knew  all  the  time  that 
you  were  the  court  lady.  I  recognized  your  rings." 

"  That's  what  fooled  me  about  Aladdin.  Susie 
Figgs  had  changed  rings  with  Ada." 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE  133 

"  Well,  I  guessed  nearly  everybody  the  first  half- 
hour,  except  those  ridiculous  rag-  dolls.  Does  any 
body  know  where  they  have  gone?  " 

That  started  the  discussion  the  two  under  the 
table  had  been  waiting  for,  and  the  various  guesses, 
falling  wide  of  the  mark,  were  so  amusing  that 
their  mirth  nearly  betrayed  their  hiding-place.  Once 
they  thought  their  discovery  was  certain.  They  had 
been  feeding  themselves  from  the  store  of  provisions 
in  their  aprons  as  well  as  the  size  of  their  muslin 
mouths  would  allow.  The  mouths  had  been  only 
small  slits  at  first2  but  they  had  stretched  and  torn 
them  with  their  fingers  until  they  were  large  enough 
to  allow  them  to  take  a  good-sized  bite  of  apple. 
As  they  sat  there,  munching  nuts  and  pop-corn, 
Kitty  whispered,  "  We're  like  the  man  in  the  verse: 

"'There  was  a  young  man  so  benighted, 
He  never  knew  when  he  was  slighted. 
He  went  to  a  party, 
And  ate  just  as  hearty 
As  if  he'd  been  really  invited.'" 

Katie  tried  hard  not  to  laugh,  but  the  effort  ended 
in  a  snort,  and  she  almost  choked  on  a  grain  of 
pop-corn.  If  some  one  had  not  upset  a  jack-o'- 
lantern  just  then  and  started  a  wild  scramble  to 
put  out  the  candle  before  it  burned  the  cloth,  the 


134      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

unbidden  guests  must  certainly  have  been  discov 
ered. 

Gradually  the  crowd  around  the  table  dwindled 
away,  as  little  groups  gathered  in  different  parts 
of  the  room,  intent  on  various  ways  of  fortune-tell 
ing.  Having  eaten  all  they  could,  and  not  being 
able  to  hear  anything  more  of  interest,  the  girls 
under  the  table  began  to  grow  tired  of  their  position. 
Moreover,  the  heat  of  their  costumes  seemed  to  grow 
more  unbearable  every  minute. 

"  We're  in  a  trap,"  groaned  Katie.  "  How  we  are 
ever  going  to  make  our  escape  is  —  " 

Kitty  never  heard  the  rest  of  the  sentence,  for 
half  a  dozen  girls,  who  had  ventured  down  the 
cellar  steps  with  candle  and  looking-glass,  came 
bursting  into  the  room  almost  hysterical  with  fright. 
Breathless  from  their  headlong  race  up  three  flights 
of  stairs,  they  gasped  out  their  news  in  broken 
sentences,  each  voice  in  a  different  key. 

"  Oh,  a  real  ghost !  None  of  your  sheet  and  pil 
low-case  affairs !  " 

"  White  hair  and  a  face  like  marble  and  a  long 
floating  veil !  " 

"  And  it  clutched  Mary  Phillips  with  fingers  that 
were  like  the  dead!  Didn't  it,  Mary?" 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE  135 

"  No,  it  didn't  come  out  of  the  cellar.  It  just 
appeared! " 

"  The  most  awful  wail  as  it  vanished!  " 

"  The  cook  saw  it  earlier  in  the  evening,  floating 
away  toward  the  graveyard,  not  walking,  you  know, 
but  -floating!  About  a  foot  above  the  ground!" 

"  Allison  has  evidently  had  as  much  fun  as  any 
body,"  whispered  Kitty.  "  Oh,  will  you  listen ! 
There  goes  Lloyd  vowing  it's  the  spirit  of  the  veiled 
lady,  and  that  she  saw  it  twice  this  evening." 

"  And  Betty,  too !  That  will  convince  them  if 
anything  could.  Betty  is  always  so  serious  in  the 
way  she  tells  things." 

"  Now  is  the  time  to  go,  while  they're  all  so 
excited  and  in  the  other  end  of  the  room,"  whispered 
Kitty.  "  Let's  make  a  wild  dash  for  the  door 
nearest  us,  bang  it  behind  us,  and  blow  out  the  hall 
light.  Then  we  can  slide  down  the  banister,  put  out 
the  light  in  the  lower  hall,  and  be  safe  in  the  west 
wing  before  they  come  to  their  senses.  Now, 
ready!" 

It  was  a  daring  move,  but  it  proved  successful. 
Every  one  heard  a  scramble,  and  turned  in  time  to 
see  two  crouching  figures  dash  into  the  hall.  They 
were  too  startled  to  know  whether  they  were  human 
or  not.  Somebody  screamed  when  the  door  banged 


136      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

violently,  and  Mary  Phillips,  who  had  been  in  a 
tremble  ever  since  her  flight  from  the  cellar,  was 
nearly  paralyzed  with  fright.  She  clutched  her 
nearest  neighbour,  wailing,  "  Oh,  what  is  it  ?  " 

By  the  time  matches  were  brought  and  the  lamps 
were  relit,  Katie  and  Kitty  were  safely  locked  in 
Lloyd's  room,  tearing  off  their  disguises  and  wiping 
the  perspiration  from  their  flushed  faces.  For  a  few 
minutes  they  waited,  half -expecting  that  a  search 
would  be  made,  but  as  time  went  on  and  no  one 
ventured  into  that  part  of  the  house,  they  began  to 
try  the  Hallowe'en  charms  that  they  could  not  take 
part  in  up-stairs.  When  Allison  came  in  half  an 
hour  later,  she  found  them  whirling  apple  parings 
around  their  heads  and  flinging  them  over  their 
shoulders,  to  see  what  initials  they  would  form  in 
falling. 

By  the  time  Allison  had  washed  the  powder  from 
her  face  and  picked  the  cotton  from  her  hair,  Lloyd 
and  Betty  came  in.  It  seemed  as  if  they  could  never 
settle  down  enough  to  think  of  sleep.  There  was 
so  much  to  talk  over.  Allison  curled  up  on  the 
divan,  announcing  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to 
undress,  as  it  would  soon  be  time  for  them  to  start 
home.  Kitty  and  Katie  followed  her  example,  ap 
propriating  Lloyd's  single  bed.  Lloyd  and  Betty 


THE  HALLOWE'EN  MASQUERADE 

took  the  other  one,  and  they  lay  whispering  until 
midnight. 

Just  as  the  clock  struck  twelve  Lloyd  got  up 
and  lighted  a  candle.  Five  eggs,  which  she  had 
boiled  in  the  chafing-dish  earlier  in  the  evening,  lay 
on  a  plate  on  the  table.  The  yolks  had  been  removed 
and  the  space  filled  with  salt.  According  to  a 
previous  agreement,  each  girl  got  up  and  took  one 
of  the  eggs.  Standing  in  the  middle  of  the  floor 
in  solemn  silence  they  ate  them  stoically,  although 
the  salt  burned  and  choked  them.  Then  without  a 
drop  of  water  afterward,  they  walked  backward  to 
bed.  According  to  the  charm,  whatever  they 
dreamed  after  that  performance  would  come  true, 
and  unless  they  were  to  be  old  maids,  some  one 
would  appear  in  their  dreams  bearing  a  cup  of 
water.  That  one  would  be  their  "  fate." 

None  of  the  five  slept  soundly  that  night.  The 
salt  made  them  thirsty,  the  crowded  quarters  restless. 
Allison  wakened  every  time  a  rooster  crowed  or 
a  dog  barked,  because  she  felt  that  the  responsibility 
of  getting  home  before  Barbry  wakened  rested  upon 
her.  Once  when  she  was  about  to  sink  into  a 
delicious  doze,  the  shrill  whistle  of  a  locomotive 
aroused  her  to  the  consciousness  that  the  early 
freight-train  was  rumbling  past  the  depot.  Opening 


138      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

her  eyes  she  saw  that  the  gray  dawn  was  beginning 
to  steal  over  the  Valley.  With  a  groan  she  sat 
up  and  stumbled  across  the  room  to  arouse  the 
others. 

She  had  to  shake  Kitty  several  times,  and  when 
she  at  last  staggered  to  her  feet  she  yawningly 
quoted  old  Aunt  Cindy's  expression,  that  she  was 
"  as  tired  as  a  thousand  of  dawgs,"  and  vowed  she 
could  never  get  home  unless  she  was  dragged  there. 
Katie  complained  of  a  headache  and  a  miserable 
"  after  the  ball  ''  feeling.  It  was  a  sorry-looking 
little  trio  which  finally  stumbled  down  the  back 
stairs  and  out  into  the  frosty  dawn.  Not  a  word 
was  spoken  on  the  way  home.  In  silence  they 
slipped  up  the  stairs  at  The  Beeches;  in  silence  they 
undressed  and  crept  into  bed,  and  three  hours  later, 
when  Barbry  came  as  usual  to  call  them,  she  knocked 
half  a  dozen  times  before  she  succeeded  in  arousing 
them. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE   PRINCESS   OF   THE   PENDULUM 

THERE  were  literary  exercises  in  the  chapel  the 
following  Friday  afternoon.  It  was  the  day  for  the 
reading  of  the  Seminary  Star,  a  monthly  paper  to 
which  all  the  grades  contributed.  As  a  humourous 
account  of  the  Hallowe'en  celebrated  was  to  be  one 
of  the  chief  features?  spiced  by  many  personal  allu 
sions,  its  appearance  was  looked  for  eagerly. 

Little  Magnolia  Budine  was  the  only  one  in  the 
room  impatient  for  the  exercises  to  close.  She  sat 
near  a  front  window  looking  out  at  every  sound  of 
approaching  wheels,  to  see  if  the  old  carryall  had 
stopped  at  the  high  green  gate  in  front  of  the 
seminary.  She  had  been  hoping  all  afternoon  that 
her  father  would  come  for  her  earlier  than  usual, 
and  she  half-expected  that  he  would.  The  chill 
November  days  were  short,  and  she  knew  that  he 
would  want  to  reach  home  before  dark. 

It  was  not  that  she  failed  to  appreciate  the  inter 
esting  articles  in  the  Star,  but  she  was  in  a  hurry 

139 


140      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

for  the  ten-mile  drive  to  be  over.  The  reason 
for  her  impatience  was  packed  away  in  the  old 
carpet-bag,  waiting  outside  in  the  hall.  Unless  she 
reached  home  before  dark,  a  certain  pleasure  she  had 
in  store  would  have  to  be  delayed  till  morning.  So 
intent  was  she  on  listening  for  the  sound  of  wheels, 
that  she  failed  to  hear  the  title  of  a  short  poem, 
which  one  of  the  editors  announced  as  written  by 
E.  L.  L.  When  Elise  nudged  her,  whispering, 
"  That's  about  you,  Maggie,"  she  turned  with  a 
start  and  blush  to  find  every  one  looking  at  her. 
She  was  so  confused  she  heard  only  the  last  verse : 

"Not  only  did  he  steal  the  tarts 

Made  by  the  gracious  queen, 
He  captured  all  the  schoolgirls'  hearts  — 
That  little  knave  —  on  Hallowe'en." 

The  applause  which  followed  was  loud  and  long. 
Her  heart  gave  a  proud,  glad  throb  at  this  public 
compliment,  but  her  face  felt  as  if  it  were  on  fire, 
and  she  longed  to  drop  under  her  desk  out  of 
sight.  It  was  just  at  this  moment  that  Mrs.  Gelling 
told  her  in  a  low  tone  that  her  father  had  come 
and  she  might  be  excused.  How  she  ever  got  to 
the  door  with  all  those  eyes  fastened  on  her  was 
more  than  she  could  tell.  She  felt  as  if  each  foot 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM         141 

weighed  a  ton,  and  that  she  was  an  hour  travelling 
the  short  space. 

Snatching  her  hat  from  the  cloak-room  and  pin 
ning  a  big  gray  shawl  around  her,  she  caught  up 
the  carpet-bag  and  ran  down  to  the  gate.  An  occa 
sional  snowflake,  like  a  downy  white  feather,  floated 
through  the  air.  The  wind  was  raw  and  damp,  and 
she  was  glad  to  climb  in  behind  the  sheltering  cur 
tains  of  the  old  carryall  and  lean  up  against  her 
father's  rough,  warm  overcoat. 

"  Well,  PusSj  how  goes  it  ?  "  he  asked,  pulling 
an  old  bedquilt  up  over  his  knees  and  tucking  it 
well  around  her. 

"  Fine,  daddy !  "  she  answered,  squeezing  his  arm 
in  both  her  mittened  hands  and  snuggling  up  to 
him  like  a  contented  kitten.  "  I  think  now  it's  the 
nicest  school  in  the  world,  and  I  like  it  better  and 
better  every  day." 

"  Got  a  good  report  this  week  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  haven't  missed  a  single  word  in  spelling. 
Mrs.  Clelling  had  to  show  me  nearly  two  hours 
about  borrowing  in  subtraction,  but  I  don't  have 
any  more  trouble  with  it  now,  and  I  had  a  longer 
list  of  adjectives  on  my  language-paper  than  any 
body  else  in  the  class." 

There  was  a  look  of  pride  in  the  old  farmer's 


142      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

weather-beaten  face.  He  had  had  little  education 
himself.  He  had  barely  learned  to  read  and  write 
in  the  few  short  terms  he  had  been  able  to  attend 
school  when  he  was  a  boy.  He  couldn't  have  told 
an  adjective  from  any  other  part  of  speech,  and 
his  wonder  at  her  amount  of  learning  was  all  the 
greater  on  that  account.  He  patted  her  hand  affec 
tionately.  "  That's  right !  That's  right !  "  he  ex 
claimed.  "  The  family's  dependin'  on  you,  Puss, 
to  do  us  all  credit."  Then  he  began  repeating  what 
she  had  heard  a  hundred  times  before.  He  never 
failed  to  tell  her  the  same  story  as  they  jogged 
homeward  every  Friday  night  and  back  again  the 
following  Monday  morning.  She  had  heard  it  so 
often  that  it  sounded  in  her  ears  like  the  familiar 
refrain  of  an  old  song  to  which  she  need  pay  no 
heed.  She  only  waited  patiently  until  he  had 
finished. 

"  The  older  children  didn't  have  no  chance  when 
they  was  young  like  you.  We  were  too  far  away 
from  the  public  schools  to  send  'm  except  just  a 
spell  spring  and  fall,  and  we  couldn't  afford  the 
pay  schools,  but  after  we  moved  up  here  and  Marthy 
got  married  and  Tom  and  Hilliard  was  big  enough 
to  do  for  'emselves  and  getting  good  wages,  times 
was  easier.  Ma  says  to  me,  '  We'll  give  the  baby 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM         143 

a  fair  start  in  the  world,  anyhow,'  and  I  says, 
'  She'll  have  the  best  diplomy  that  Lloydsboro 
Seminary  can  give  if  I  have  to  carry  her  there 
and  home  again  on  my  back  every  day  till  she 
gets  it.'  " 

There  was  much  more  in  the  same  strain  to 
which  Magnolia  listened,  Waiting  for  her  turn  to 
speak,  as  one  would  wait  for  an  alarm  clock  to 
run  down  when  it  was  striking.  The  moment  he 
paused  she  began,  eagerly,  "  I've  got  something 
right  now  that  mammy  will  be  proud  to  see." 

Diving  under  the  quilt  for  the  carpet-bag,  she 
opened  it  and  took  out  a  book  which  lay  on  top 
of  her  clothes. 

"  Now  put  on  your  spectacles,  daddy,"  she 
ordered,  gaily,  "  or  maybe  you  won't  be  able  to 
tell  who  it  is."  She  slipped  a  photograph  from  the 
book  and  held  it  up  before  him.  Holding  the  reins 
between  his  knees,  he  pulled  off  one  glove,  felt  in 
various  pockets,  and  finally  fished  up  a  pair  of 
steel-bowed  spectacles,  which  he  slowly  adjusted. 

"  Miss  Katherine  Marks  took  it,"  she  explained, 
"  and  she  painted  it  afterward,  so  you  can  tell  exactly 
how  I  looked  at  the  masquerade-party." 

"  If  it  ain't  my  little  magnolia  blossom ! "  ex 
claimed  the  old  man,  proudly,  holding  the  beautifully 


144      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

tinted  photograph  off  at  arm's  length  for  a  better 
view.  "  Wherever  did  you  get  all  those  fine  gew 
gaws?  Why,  Puss,  you're  prettier  than  a  posy. 
Sort  of  fanciful  and  trimmed  up,  but  that's  your 
little  face  natural  as  life.  I  should  say  your  mammy 
will  be  proud !  " 

It  took  all  the  time  while  they  were  driving  the 
next  six  miles  for  Magnolia  to  tell  of  that  memorable 
afternoon  and  night.  How  Lloyd  Sherman  had 
taken  her  over  to  Clovercroft,  and  all  the  Marks 
family  had  helped  to  make  her  costume.  How 
beautiful  it  was,  and  how  the  girls  had  praised  it,  and 
even  published  a  poem  about  her  in  the  Seminary 
Star;  and  next  day  Miss  Katherine  had  taken  her 
picture,  and  the  day  after  that  had  sent  for  her 
to  come  over  to  her  studio,  and  had  given  her  a 
copy  of  it  to  take  home. 

"  Seems  to  me  as  if  we  ought  to  do  something 
nice  for  those  people  who  have  been  so  kind  to 
you,"  said  her  father,  musingly,  when  she  had  told 
him  the  whole  story.  "  You  say  if  it  hadn't  been 
for  Miss  Katherine  you'd  have  had  to  miss  the 
party.  If  you'd  have  missed  that  you  wouldn't 
have  had  that  poetry  about  you  in  the  paper.  I'm 
proud  of  that,  Puss.  Seems  as  if  my  little  gir! 
is  mighty  popular  —  a  sort  of  celebrity,  to  get  into 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM         145 

the  paper.  I'd  like  to  show  that  young  lady  that 
I  appreciate  what  she's  done  to  make  you  happy. 
I  wonder  how  she'd  like  a  crock  of  your  mammy's 
apple  butter.  There  ain't  no  better  apple  butter 
in  all  Oldham  County  2  and  I  should  think  she'd  be 
glad  to  get  it.  I'll  speak  about  it  when  we  get  home, 
and  if  your  mammy's  willing,  I'll  carry  a  crock  of  it 
to  the  young  lady  when  I  take  you  back  to  school 
Monday  morning." 

Magnolia  was  not  sure  of  the  propriety  of  such 
a  gift,  and  he  turned  the  matter  over  in  his  slow 
mind  all  the  rest  of  the  way  home.  They  jogged 
along  in  silence,  for  she  also  was  busy  with  her 
thoughts.  She  was  thinking  of  another  picture  in 
the  library  book  which  she  had  not  showed  her 
father.  It  was  an  unmounted  photograph  of  Lloyd 
Sherman  which  Miss  Katherine  had  taken  the  year 
before. 

She  had  photographed  all  the  children  who  took 
part  in  the  play  of  the  "  Rescue  of  the  Princess  Win 
some,"  and  they  were  arranged  on  a  panel  on  her 
studio  wall.  There  were  several  of  Lloyd;  one  at 
the  spinning-wheel,  one  with  her  arms  around  Hero's 
neck,  and  one  with  the  knight  kneeling  to  take  her 
hand  from  the  old  king's.  But  the  most  beautiful 
one  of  all  was  the  one  of  the  Dove  Song.  That 


146      LITTLE    COLONEL    AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

picture  hung  by  itself.  It  was  just  a  little  medallion, 
showing  the  head  of  the  Princess  with  the  white 
dove  nestled  against  her  shoulder.  The  fair  hair 
with  its  coronet  of  pearls  made  a  halo  around  the 
sweet  little  face,  and  Magnolia  stood  gazing  at  it 
as  if  it  had  been  the  picture  of  an  angel.  She  had 
no  eyes  for  anything  else  in  the  studio,  and  Miss 
Flora,  seeing  her  gaze  of  rapt  admiration,  looked 
across  at  her  sister  and  smiled  significantly. 

"  Haven't  you  a  copy  of  that  you  could  give  her, 
Katherine  ?  "  she  asked,  in  a  low  tone.  "  I  never 
saw  a  child's  face  express  such  wistful  longing.  It 
makes  me  think  of  some  of  the  little  waifs  I  have 
seen  at  Christmas  time,  gazing  hungrily  into  the 
shop  windows  at  the  toys  and  bon-bons  they  know 
can  never  be  for  them." 

Miss  Katherine  opened  a  table  drawer,  and,  after 
searching  a  few  minutes  among  the  unmounted 
photographs  it  contained,  took  out  one,  regarding  it 
critically. 

"  This  was  a  trifle  too  light  to  suit  me,"  she 
said,  "  but  too  good  to  destroy."  She  crossed  the 
room  and  held  it  out  to  Magnolia,  who  still  stood 
gazing  at  its  duplicate  on  the  wall. 

Such  a  look  of  rapture  came  into  the  child's  face 
when  it  was  finally  made  clear  to  her  that  she  was 


THE  PRINCESS  OF   THE  PENDULUM 

to  have  the  picture  to  keep  that  no  one  noticed  the 
omission  of  spoken  thanks.  She  was  too  em 
barrassed  to  say  anything,  but  she  took  it  as  if  it 
were  something  sacred. 

"  I  suppose  because  Lloyd  happens  to  be  the  god 
dess  just  now  to  whom  she  burns  incense,"  said  Miss 
Katherine  when  she  had  gone.  "  These  little  school 
girl  affairs  are  very  amusing  sometimes.  They're 
so  intense  while  they  last." 

Maggie  could  not  have  told  why  she  did  not 
show  the  picture  of  the  Princess  to  her  father.  In 
an  undefined  sort  of  way  she  felt  that  he  would 
look  at  it  as  he  would  look  at  the  pic 
ture  of  any  little  girl,  and  that  he  would 
not  understand  that  she  was  so  much  finer  and 
better  and  more  beautiful  and  different  in  every 
way  from  all  the  other  girls  in  the  world.  But 
Corono  would  understand.  For  two  days  Magnolia 
had  looked  forward  to  the  pleasure  of  showing  it 
to  her. 

"  Can't  you  get  old  Dixie  out  of  a  walk,  daddy?  " 
she  exclaimed  at  last.  "  I'm  mighty  anxious  to 
get  home  before  sundown.  I  want  to  stop  at  Roney's 
with  this  library  book,  and  show  her  the  picture, 
too." 

Aroused  from  his  reverie  the  old  farmer  clucked 


148      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

to  his  horse2  and  they  went  bumping  down  the 
stony  pike  at  a  gait  which  satisfied  even  Maggie's 
impatient  desire  for  speed. 

"  I  reckon  Roney  will  be  mighty  glad  to  see  you," 
he  remarked,  as  he  stopped  the  horse  in  front  of 
an  old  cabin  a  short  distance  from  his  own  home. 
"  She's  been  worse  this  week.  You'll  have  half  an 
hour  yet  before  sundown,"  he  added,  as  he  turned 
the  wheel  for  her  to  climb  out  of  the  carryall. 

"  I'll  stay  till  supper-time,"  she  called  back  over 
her  shoulder,  "  for  I  have  so  much  to  tell  her  this 
week." 

With  the  library  book  tucked  away  under  the 
old  gray  shawl,  she  ran  down  the  straggling  path 
to  the  little  whitewashed  cabin. 

Roney  would  understand.  Roney  had  always 
understood  things  from  the  time  they  had  first  been 
neighbours  on  a  lonely  farm  near  Loretta.  That 
was  when  Magnolia  was  a  baby,  and  Corono,  six 
years  older,  without  a  playmate  and  without  a  toy, 
had  daily  borrowed  her  and  played  with  her  as  if 
she  had  been  a  great  doll.  It  was  Corono  who 
had  discovered  her  first  tooth,  and  who  had  coaxed 
her  to  take  her  first  step,  and  had  taught  her  nearly 
everything  she  knew,  from  threading  a  needle  and 
tying  a  knot,  to  spelling  out  the  words  on  the  tomb- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM         149 

stones  in  the  nuns'  graveyard.  Corono  could  often 
tell  what  she  was  thinking  about,  even  before  she 
said  a  word.  She  was  the  only  one  at  home  to 
whom  Magnolia  ever  mentioned  the  Princess. 

Several  years  before  the  two  families  had  moved 
away  together  from  the  old  place.  In  that  time 
Corono's  mother  had  died,  and  her  father  had  be 
come  so  crippled  with  rheumatism  that  he  could  no 
longer  manage  to  do  the  heavy  work  on  the  farm 
he  had  rented.  They  were  glad  to  accept  their 
old  neighbour's  offer  of  an  empty  cabin  on  his  place. 
After  that,  when  Corono  was  not  at  the  farmhouse 
helping  Mrs.  Budine  with  her  cleaning  or  sewing 
or  pickle-making,  Magnolia  was  at  the  cabin,  foj- 
lowing  at  the  little  housekeeper's  very  heels,  as  she 
went  about  her  daily  tasks.  But  now  for  several 
months  Corono  had  been  barely  able  to  drag  from 
one  room  to  another.  Whether  it  was  a  fall  she 
had  had  in  the  early  summer  which  injured  her 
back,  or  whether  it  was  some  disease  of  the  spine 
past  his  skill  to  discover,  the  doctor  from  the  cross 
roads  could  not  decide. 

Her  father  had  to  be  housekeeper  now,  and  they 
would  have  had  meagre  fare  oftentimes,,  had  not 
a  generous  share  of  every  pie  and  pudding  baked 
in  the  Budine  kitchen  found  its  way  to  their  table. 


150      LITTLE   COLONEL    AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

The  weeks  would  have  been  almost  unbearably 
monotonous  to  Corono  after  Magnolia  started  to 
school  had  she  not  looked  forward  to  the  Fridays, 
when  her  return  meant  the  bringing  of  a  new  library 
book,  and  another  delightfully  interesting  chapter 
of  her  life  at  the  seminary. 

These  glimpses  into  a  world  so  different  from 
her  own  gave  her  something  to  think  about  all  week, 
as  she  dragged  wearily  about,  trying  to  help  her 
father  in  his  awkward  struggles  with  the  cooking 
and  cleaning.  She  thought  about  them  at  night, 
too,  when  the  pain  in  her  back  kept  her  awake. 
Betty  and  Lloyd  and  Allison,  Kitty  and  Elise  and 
Katie  Mallard,  were  as  real  to  her  as  they  were  to 
Maggie.  They  would  have  stared  in  astonishment 
could  they  have  known  that  every  week  a  sixteen- 
year-old  girl,  whom  they  had  never  seen,  and  of 
whom  they  had  barely  heard,  was  waiting  to  ask  a 
dozen  eager  questions  about  them. 

Maggie  ran  in  without  knocking,  bringing  such 
a  breath  of  fresh  air  and  fresh  interest  with  her 
that  Corono's  face  brightened  instantly.  She  was 
lying  on  the  bed  with  a  shawl  thrown  over  her. 

"  I've  been  listening  for  you  for  more  than  an 
hour,"  said  Corono,  propping  herself  up  on  her 
elbow.  "  I  thought  the  time  never  would  pass. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF   THE  PENDULUM          151 

I  counted  the  ticking  of  the  clock,  and  then  I  tried 
to  see  how  much  of  Betty's  play  I  could  repeat. 
I've  read  it  so  many  times  this  week  that  I  know 
it  nearly  all  by  heart." 

She  picked  up  the  book  which  lay  beside  her 
on  the  bed.  It  was  the  library  copy  of  "  The 
Rescue  of  the  Princess  Winsome,"  which  Maggie 
had  brought  to  her  the  previous  Friday.  It  had 
been  in  such  constant  demand  since  the  opening 
of  school  that  she  had  been  unable  to  obtain  it 
earlier. 

Maggie,  about  to  plunge  into  an  account  of  her 
Hallowe'en  experiences,  checked  herself  as  Corono 
winced  with  pain  and  her  face  grew  suddenly  white. 
"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  she  asked,  sympathetically. 
"  Do  you  feel  very  bad  ?  " 

To  her  astonishment  Corono  buried  her  face  in 
her  pillow  to  hide  the  tears  that  were  trickling 
down  her  cheeks,  and  began  to  sob. 

"  I'll  run  get  mammy,"  said  the  frightened  child, 
who  had  never  seen  Corono  give  way  to  her  feelings 
in  such  fashion  before. 

"  No,  don't!  "  she  sobbed.     "  I'll  be  all  right - 
in  a  minute.     I'm  just  nervous  —  from  the  pain  — 
I  haven't  slept  much  —  lately !  " 

Maggie  sat  motionless,  afraid  to  make  any  at- 


152      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

tempt  at  consolation,  even  so  much  as  patting  her 
cheek  with  her  plump  little  hand.  Roney  was  the 
one  who  had  always  comforted  her.  She  did  not 
know  what  to  do,  now  that  their  positions  were 
suddenly  reversed.  She  was  relieved  when  Roney 
presently  wiped  her  eyes  and  said,  with  an  attempt 
at  cheerfulness,  "  There !  You  never  saw  me  make 
a  baby  of  myself  before !  Did  you !  But  I  couldn't 
help  it.  Sometimes  when  it  gets  this  way  I  wish 
I  could  die.  But  I've  just  got  to  keep  on  living 
for  daddy's  sake.  I  don't  suppose  any  one  ever 
told  you,  and  you  couldn't  understand  unless  you 
knew. 

"  It's  this  way.  My  mother's  family  never  wanted 
her  to  marry  daddy,  and  they  disowned  her  when 
she  did,  because  he  wasn't  educated  and  rich  and 
all  that,  as  they  were.  They  never  spoke  to  her 
afterward,  but  when  my  grandfather  came  to  die, 
I  reckon  he  was  sorry  for  the  way  he'd  done,  for 
he  wanted  to  send  for  her.  It  was  too  late,  though. 
She  had  died  that  spring.  Then  he  tried  to  make 
it  up  in  a  way,  by  being  good  to  me,  and  he  left 
me  an  annuity.  I  can't  explain  to  you  just  what 
that  is,  but  every  year  as  long  as  I  live  his  lawyer 
is  to  pay  me  some  money.  It  isn't  much,  but  it 
is  all  that  daddy  and  I  have  had  to  live  on  since 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM         (53 

he  hasn't  been  able  to  work.  When  I  die  the  money 
will  stop  coming,  so  I  feel  that  I  must  keep  on 
living  even  when  every  breath  is  agony,  as  it  is 
sometimes.  I  don't  think  I  can  stand  it  much  longer. 
There  are  days  when  I  just  have  to  grit  my  teeth 
and  say  I  won't  give  up!  I  will  hang  on  for  poor 
daddy's  sake.  Sometimes  I  believe  that  is  all  that 
keeps  me  alive." 

She  stopped  abruptly,  seeing  the  tears  of  distress 
in  Maggie's  eyes,  and  made  an  attempt  to  laugh. 

"  There !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Now  that  I've  poured 
out  all  my  troubles  and  eased  my  mind,  I  feel  better. 
Tell  me  about  the  girls.  What  have  they  been 
doing  this  week  ?  " 

Much  relieved,  Maggie  produced  the  photograph 
of  herself,  and  began  an  enthusiastic  account  of 
her  Hallowe'en  experiences.  She  began  with  the 
visit  to  Clovercroft,  and  as  she  described  the  hand 
somely  furnished  music-room,  with  its  luxurious 
rugs  and  grand  piano,  and  the  priceless  pictures 
that  had  been  brought  from  over  the  sea,  its  lace 
curtains  and  white  tiled  hearth  and  andirons  that 
shone  like  gold,  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  little  cabin 
had  never  looked  so  bare.  Its  chinked  walls  and 
puncheon  floor  stood  out  in  pitiful  contrast.  The 


154      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

only  picture  in  the  room  was  an  unframed  chromo 
tacked  above  the  mantel. 

As  she  described  the  masquerade  frolic,  she  con 
trasted  Roney's  lonely  shut-in  life  with  her  own  and 
the  other  girls'  at  the  seminary.  A  realization  of  its 
meagreness  and  emptiness  stole  over  her  till  she 
could  hardly  keep  the  tears  back.  A  great  longing 
sprang  up  in  her  warm  little  heart  to  do  something 
that  would  compensate  as  far  as  possible  for  all  that 
she  had  missed.  Acting  on  that  impulse,  as  she 
reached  the  climax  of  her  story  and  drew  out  the 
cherished  photograph  of  the  Princess,  she  thrust 
it  into  Roney's  hand,  saying,  hurriedly,  "  Here,  you 
can  have  it,  Roney.  I'd  rather  you  would  have 
it  than  me." 

Corono  held  the  picture  eagerly,  studying  every 
detail  of  the  beautiful  little  medallion.  The  fair 
hair  with  its  coronet  of  pearls,  the  white  dove  nestled 
against  her  shoulder,  as  she  had  held  it  when  she 
sang  "  Flutter  and  fly,  flutter  and  fly,  bear  him 
my  heart  of  gold,"  —  all  seemed  doubly  attractive 
now  with  the  play  fresh  in  her  mind.  Besides,  it 
was  the  most  beautiful  picture  she  had  ever  seen 
in  all  the  sixteen  years  of  her  lonely,  unsatisfied 
life. 

The  intuition  that  always  helped  her  to  under- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM         155 

stand  her  little  friend  made  her  understand  now  in 
a  way  that  the  gift  meant  a  sacrifice,  and  she  ex 
claimed,  impulsively,  "Oh,  Maggie!  I  don't  feel 
as  if  I  ought  to  take  it  from  you.  You  keep  it,  and 
just  lend  it  to  me  once  in  awhile." 

"  No,  I  want  you  to  have  it,"  said  Maggie,  draw 
ing  the  old  shawl  up  around  her.  "  Goodness  me! 
It's  getting  dark.  I'll  have  to  run,"  and  before 
Corono  could  make  another  protest  she  rushed 
away. 

As  she  ran  along  the  path  that  crossed  the  pas 
ture  between  the  cabin  and  the  farmhouse,  there 
was  a  tremulous  smile  on  her  face,  but  the  faint 
twilight  also  showed  tears  in  her  eyes.  The  smile 
was  for  the  joy  she  knew  she  had  given  Roney, 
but  the  tears  were  for  herself.  Nobody  knew  how 
much  of  a  sacrifice  she  had  made  in  giving  up  the 
picture  of  the  Princess.  Even  Roney  had  not  guessed 
how  great  it  was.  But  she  had  no  regret  next 
morning  when  she  came  back  to  the  cabin.  Roney 
greeted  her  eagerly. 

"  Look !  "  she  cried,  pointing  to  the  old  wooden 
clock  which  stood  on  the  mantel.  "  I  didn't  have 
a  frame  to  put  the  picture  in,  and  I  was  afraid  it 
would  get  spoiled  without  glass  over  it.  While 
I  was  looking  around  the  room  wondering  what 


156      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

to  do,  I  happened  to  notice  that  it  was  the  same  size 
as  the  pendulum.  Daddy  lifted  it  down  for  me, 
and  I  fastened  the  picture  on  that.  So  there  it 
is  all  safe  and  sound  behind  the  glass  door,  and 
I  can  see  it  from  any  part  of  the  room. 

"  And,  oh,  Maggie,  you  don't  know  how  it  helped 
me  last  night.  It  made  the  play  seem  so  real  to 
me.  As  I  lay  here  watching  the  pendulum,  it 
stopped  saying  '  Tick  tock,  tick  tock.'  It  seemed 
to  me  that  the  Princess  was  looking  straight  at 
me,  saying,  instead,  'For  love  —  will  find  — 
a  way!'  Then  I  knew  that  she  meant  me.  That 
love  would  help  me  bear  the  pain  for  daddy's  sake; 
that  my  living  along  as  bravely  as  I  could  was 
like  spinning  the  golden  thread,  and  that  I  mustn't 
think  about  the  great  skein  that  the  weeks  and 
months  were  piling  up  ahead  for  me  to  do;  I 
must  just  spin  a  minute  at  a  time.  I  can  stand 
the  pain  when  I  count  it  with  the  pendulum.  Even 
when  the  fire  died  down  and  I  couldn't  see  her 
any  longer,  I  could  hear  her  saying  it  over  and 
over,  '  For  love  —  will  find  —  a  way.'  And  I  lay 
there  in  the  dark  and  pretended  that  I  was  a  prin 
cess,  too,  spinning  love's  golden  thread,  and  that 
my  dove  was  a  little  white  prayer  that  I  could 
send  fluttering  up  to  God,  asking  him  to  help  me 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  PENDULUM        1 57 

find  the  way  to  be  brave  and  patient,  and  to  hang 
on  to  life  as  long  as  I  possibly  can  for  daddy's 
sake." 

Little  did  the  Shadow  Club  dream  that  day  how 
far  their  shadow-selves  were  reaching.  But  Betty's 
song  brought  comfort  and  courage  for  many  an  hour 
into  Roney's  lonely  life,  and  the  greatest  solace 
in  her  keenest  suffering  was  the  smiling  face  of 
the  Princess,  swaying  back  and  forth  upon  the  pen 
dulum. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ONE  RAINY   AFTERNOON 

THAT  same  Saturday  afternoon  following  the 
Hallowe'en  frolic,  while  Maggie  rehearsed  the  whole 
affair  once  more  in  the  cabin,  the  Shadow  Club 
discussed  it  at  the  seminary.  They  had  met  early, 
for  Lloyd  and  Betty  had  asked  permission  to  make 
candy  in  their  room,  and  in  order  to  finish  the 
amount  of  work  they  had  planned  to  do  at  each 
meeting,  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  begin  imme 
diately  after  dinner. 

It  was  a  dull  November  day,  cloudy  and  damp, 
and  while  they  were  settling  themselves  to  work, 
the  rain  began  to  patter  against  the  window-panes. 

"  How  cosy  and  shut-in  it  makes  you  feel !  " 
exclaimed  Katie,  looking  around  on  the  bright, 
comfortable  room. 

"  We  are  shut  in,"  answered  Lloyd.  "  The  Clark 
girls  and  Magnolia  have  gone  home  to  stay  ovah 
Sunday,  and  we  have  this  whole  wing  to  ourselves. 
Nobody  can  heah  us,  no  mattah  how  loud  we  talk." 

158 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  159 

"  Let's  put  up  the  sign,  '  No  admittance.  Busy,' 
on  the  corridor  door  leading  into  our  hall,"  sug 
gested  Ida.  "  On  a  rainy  afternoon  like  this,  when 
the  girls  can't  get  out-doors,  they're  more  apt  to 
go  visiting,  and  we  don't  want  to  be  interrupted." 

"  That's  so>"  agreed  Lloyd.  Hastily  scribbling 
the  notice  on  an  envelope,  she  ran  out  and  fastened 
it  on  the  door  with  a  pin. 

"  Now  we're  safe,"  she  announced  on  her  return, 
and  settled  herself  comfortably  among  the  cushions 
of  the  window-seat.  For  half  an  hour  their  needles 
and  brushes  were  plied  rapidly,  as  they  chattered 
and  laughed  over  the  various  remarks  they  had 
heard  about  the  mysterious  Hallowe'en  guests.  Who 
they  were  still  remained  an  unsolved  riddle  in  the 
school. 

Presently  Ida  dropped  her  embroidery-hoops  and 
leaned  back  in  her  chair  yawning.  "  Oh,  I'm  in 
no  mood  for  work  of  this  kind !  My  silks  snarl,  my 
needle  keeps  coming  unthreaded,  and  I  stick  myself 
nearly  every  time  I  take  a  stitch.  I'm  making  such 
a  mess  of  it  I'd  stop  only  I  don't  want  to  shirk 
my  part  when  you  are  all  working  so  faithfully 
When  my  embroidery  acts  this  way  it  makes  me 
so  nervous  I  could  scream." 


160      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

"  Why  don't  you  do  some  more  burnt-work  in 
stead  ?  "  suggested  Katie. 

"I'm  out  of  leather.  The  last  lot  I  sent  for 
hasn't  come." 

"  You  might  read  to  us  while  we  work,"  sug 
gested  Betty.  "  There's  a  new  St.  Nicholas  on  the 
table." 

"  Yes,  do,"  insisted  Allison.  "  Mother  said  this 
morning  that  she  thought  it  would  be  a  fine  plan  for 
us  to  take  up  some  good  book  and  read  it  in  turn 
while  we  work." 

As  all  the  girls  agreed,  Ida  picked  up  the  magazine 
and  began  turning  the  leaves. 

"  What  will  you  have?  "  she  asked.  "'  This  scien 
tific  article  doesn't  look  very  entertaining,  and  this 
football  story  wouldn't  interest  anybody  but  boys. 
We  can't  plunge  into  the  middle  of  this  serial  with 
out  having  read  the  first  chapters,  and,  judging 
from  the  illustrations  and  the  name  of  this  girl's 
story,  it  is  anything  but  wildly  exciting." 

She  glanced  hastily  over  the  remaining  pages,  and 
then  laid  the  magazine  aside.  "  I  wonder,"  she 
said,  hesitatingly,  "  if  any  of  you  have  ever  read 
a  book  I  have  in  my  room,  called  '  The  Fortunes 
of  Daisy  Dale.'  It's  the  sweetest  thing;  I  nearly 
cried  my  eyes  out  over  part  of  it.  Of  course  it's 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  l6l 

a  novel,  and  some  people  object  to  them  unless 
they're  by  some  great  writer  like  Thackeray  or 
Scott.  I  know  my  aunt  does.  But  I  don't  see 
how  this  could  hurt  anybody.  It's  about  a  dear 
little  English  girl  whose  guardian  kept  her  almost 
like  a  prisoner,  so  that  he  could  use  her  money. 
She  had  such  a  hard  time  that  she  ran  away  and 
got  a  place  as  a  governess  when  she  was  only 
sixteen.  She  had  all  sorts  of  trouble  and  misunder 
standings,  but  it  ends  happily.  All  the  way  through 
she  has  such  a  beautiful  influence  on  young  Lord 
Rokeby  and  Guy  Wolvering,  the  squire's  son,  who 
is  so  wild  that  his  father  threatens  to  disinherit 
him.  It  is  his  love  for  her  that  finally  reforms 
him.  Her  influence  over  him  is  a  living  illustra 
tion  of  the  motto  of  our  club." 

"  Then  let's  read  it,"  proposed  Allison,  eagerly. 

"  Oh,  yes,  go  get  it,  Ida,"  called  Lloyd  and  Kitty 
in  the  same  breath. 

"  That  is,  if  you  don't  mind  reading  it  twice 
yourself,"  added  Betty. 

"  No,  indeed !  "  answered  Ida,  rising.  "  I  could 
read  it  a  dozen  times  and  never  tire  of  it." 

In  a  moment  she  was  back  from  her  room,  carry 
ing  the  book  in  one  hand  and  dragging  a  rocking- 
chair  behind  her  with  the  other.  She  drew  it  up 


1 62      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

to  one  of  the  windows,  and  pushing  the  curtains 
farther  aside2  sat  down  and  began  to  read,  to  the 
pattering  accompaniment  of  the  rain-drops  on  the 
pane.  She  was  a  good  reader,  the  best  in  the  semi 
nary,  and  her  well  modulated  voice  would  have 
lent  a  charm  to  any  story;  but  the  expression  she 
threw  into  this  made  it  seem  as  if  she  were  re 
counting  her  own  personal  troubles. 

She  had  not  read  half  a  chapter  before  Lloyd 
understood  why  it  seemed  so.  Ida  was  putting 
herself  in  Daisy  Dale's  place.  Instead  of  the  unjust 
guardian  there  was  the  unreasonable  aunt.  Instead 
of  the  squire's  son,  Edwardo;  and  the  stolen  meet 
ings  and  the  smuggled  letters  and  the  pearl  Daisy 
wore  in  secret  recalled  the  confidences  of  the  night 
in  the  orchard,  and  many  that  had  been  whispered 
to  her  since. 

The  Shadow  Club  forgot  where  they  were  pres 
ently.  They  ceased  to  notice  that  the  cold  rain 
drove  faster  and  faster  against  the  windows.  They 
were  treading  a  winding  path  across  a  sunny  Eng 
lish  meadow  with  Daisy  and  her  lover.  It  was  June- 
time  where  they  wandered.  The  hawthorn  hedges 
were  budding  white,  and  even  the  crevices  of  the 
old  stone  wall  flaunted  its  bloom  wherever  a  cluster 
of  "  London  pride  "  could  find  a  foothold. 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  1 6$ 

In  a  little  while  Katie's  crochet-work  slipped  into 
her  lap  unheeded.  With  chin  in  hands  and  elbows 
On  her  knees,  she  leaned  forward,  listening  with 
rapt  attention.  Betty  laid  down  her  embroidery- 
hoops,  and  Kitty  and  Allison  stopped  painting.  It 
was  a  wild,  stormy  night  now,  and  they  were  suffer 
ing  with  Daisy,  as  with  clasped  hands  and  streaming 
eyes  she  turned  her  back  on  her  old  home2  driven 
out  to  seek  her  own  living  by  her  guardian's  un 
bearable  tyranny. 

Lloyd's  cheeks  burned  redder  and  redder  as  the 
story  went  on,  and  Daisy  Dale,  established  as  gov 
erness  at  Cameron  Hall,  again  met  Guy  Wolvering 
and  listened  to  his  vows  of  deathless  devotion.  She 
wondered  how  Ida  could  read  on  so  calmly  when 
some  of  those  scenes  had  been  her  own  experience. 
She  wondered  what  the  girls  would  say  if  they  knew 
all  that  she  knew.  Then  she  wondered  how  it  would 
feel  to  be  the  heroine  in  such  scenes,  and  be  the 
idol  of  some  one's  whole  existence,  as  Daisy  Dale 
was  of  Guy  Wolvering's,  as  Ida  was  of  Edwardo's. 

"  Oh,  don't  stop!  "  begged  five  eager  voices,  when 
Ida  finally  laid  down  the  book. 

"  I  must.  It's  nearly  dark,  and  my  throat  is  tired. 
Do  you  realize  I  have  been  reading  all  afternoon  ?  " 

"  Oh,  it  didn't  seem  more  than  five  minutes ! " 


1 64      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

exclaimed  Katie.  "  I  never  was  so  interested  in 
anything  in  my  life.  I  am  wild  to  hear  the  end." 

"  Girls !  "  cried  Allison2  tragically,  starting  up 
from  her  chair.  "  I  wish  you'd  look  at  that  clock ! 
We  haven't  made  the  candy,  and  we've  scarcely 
worked  at  all  this  whole  afternoon,  and  now  it's 
time  to  go  home." 

"  But  how  can  we?  "  queried  Kitty.  '*  It's  simply 
pouring.  Look  at  those  windows.  The  rain  is 
coming  in  torrents." 

"We'll  have  to  stay  all  night,"  laughed  Katie. 
"  Wouldn't  it  be  fun  if  we  could?  " 

"  You  can,"  cried  Lloyd,  seizing  the  suggestion 
eagerly.  "  I'm  sure  that  the  matron  would  be  will 
ing.  There's  plenty  of  extra  rooms  on  Satahday 
night;  there's  two  right  heah  in  this  wing.  All 
you  have  to  do  is  to  telephone  home  and  ask  yoah 
mothahs.  I'm  suah  they'll  let  you,  because  it's 
such  dreadful  weathah.  Come  on,  let's  go  and 
ask  now.  Then  we  can  make  the  candy  befoah 
suppah,  and  finish  the  book  befoah  bedtime." 

With  the  pouring  rain  as  an  excuse,  it  was  easy 
to  obtain  the  matron's  permission  for  them  to  stay, 
and  she  herself  telephoned  to  Mrs.  Walton  and 
Mrs.  Mallard^  explaining  the  situation  and  assuring 
them  that  the  girls  would  be  well  taken  care  of. 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  1 65 

Both  mothers  gave  consent  so  thankfully  that 
the  matron  turned  away  from  the  telephone  feeling 
that  her  hospitable  insistence  had  made  these  ladies 
her  friends  for  life;  and  she  bustled  away  well 
pleased  with  herself,  to  put  fresh  sheets  on  the  beds 
in  the  empty  rooms  in  the  west  wing. 

The  Clark  sisters'  room,  next  to  Lloyd  and 
Betty's,  had  a  closet  built  opposite  theirs  into  the 
same  partition-wall,  in  the  deep  space  beside  the 
chimney.  When  both  doors  were  closed  no  sound 
penetrated  from  one  room  to  the  other,  but  if  either 
were  left  ajar,  any  one  happening  to  step  into  either 
closet  could  hear  quite  distinctly  what  was  said  on 
the  other  side. 

The  matron,  opening  the  closet  door  on  her  side 
of  the  wall  to  fold  away  some  blankets  that  she 
had  just  taken  from  the  beds,  heard  Lloyd  on  the 
other  side  hunting  for  the  bottle  of  alcohol  for  the 
chafing-dish.  Then  Katie's  voice  came  piping 
through  high  and  shrill : 

"  Wasn't  it  sweet  of  Mrs.  Bond  to  telephone  her 
self  and  insist  on  our  being  allowed  to  stay?  If 
I  had  been  at  the  telephone  mamma  would  have 
said  that  she  would  send  the  carriage  and  I  needn't 
get  wet,  and  could  come  home  just  as  well  as  not. 
But  she  was  willing  to  accept  an  invitation  from 


1 66      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

headquarters.  I'm  going  to  save  Mrs.  Bond  some 
of  my  fudge.  She's  just  the  dearest  thing  that 
ever  was." 

"  I  shall  save  her  some,  too/'  said  Kitty.  "  I'd 
like  to  give  her  a  good  big  squeeze  for  being  so 
kind  to  us." 

Mrs.  Bond  stepped  out  into  the  room  again  with 
a  pleased  smile  on  her  motherly  face.  As  she 
went  down-stairs  she  began  revolving  a  plan  in 
her  mind  for  the  evening  entertainment  of  these 
appreciative  little  guests  which  she  thought  would 
give  them  still  greater  pleasure.  Scarcely  had  she 
gone  when  another  listener  took  her  place.  This 
time  the  eavesdropping  was  intentional. 

Mittie  Dupong,  crossing  over  to  the  west  wing 
to  borrow  a  magazine  from  Betty,  saw  the  sign 
on  the  corridor  door.  Knowing  what  such  signs 
usually  mean  at  five  o'clock  on  a  Saturday  afternoon, 
she  softly  turned  the  knob  and  stepped  into  the 
narrow  hall.  A  delicious  smell  of  boiling  candy 
came  floating  down  toward  her  from  Lloyd's  room, 
and  a  peal  of  laughter,  in  which  she  distinguished 
first  Allison's  voice,  then  Kitty's  and  Katie's.  She 
felt  a  trifle  piqued  at  being  left  out  of  the  merry 
making. 

"  I  wonder  who  else  is  in  there,"  she  thought, 


"SHE   COULD    HEAR    EVERY    WORD    OF    THE    CONVERSATION." 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  l6/ 

slipping  on  toward  the  keyhole.  Just  as  she  was 
about  to  stoop  and  peep  in^  a  sudden  noise  inside 
as  of  some  one  coming  toward  her  made  her  draw 
back.  The  door  into  the  Clark  girls'  room  stood 
open.  She  darted  in  and  waited  breathlessly.  Lloyd 
was  coming  out  into  the  hall,  saying,  "  Never  mind 
about  the  lamp-chimney;  I'll  get  Cassie's." 

Mittie  had  barely  time  to  spring  into  the  closet 
when  Lloyd  entered,  took  the  lamp  from  the  table, 
and  carried  it  back  to  her  own  room.  Crouched 
down  in  her  dark  hiding-place  Mittie  discovered 
that  the  closet  was  a  far  better  situation  for  eaves 
dropping  than  the  keyhole.  She  could  hear  every 
word  of  the  conversation  without  the  risk  of  being 
detected. 

Evidently  the  girls  were  discussing  some  story 
that  they  had  been  reading,  and  a  very  sentimental 
one  at  that.  A  wicked  little  gleam  of  triumph  came 
into  Mittie's  eyes  as  she  listened.  For  here  were 
Lloyd  and  Allison  and  Kitty  and  Katie  Mallard  and 
Betty,  actually  teasing  each  other  about  the  boys 
they  liked  best.  And  it  hadn't  been  a  week  since 
Lloyd  had  said,  with  a  scornful  little  toss  of  her 
head,  "  Oh,  Mittie,  you  make  me  ti'ahed !  Always 
talking  about  the  boys ! "  and  the  four  of  them  had 


1 68      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

walked  off  with. their  arms  around  each  other  as  if 
quite  disgusted. 

"  Oh,  won't  I  get  even  with  them  now  for  turning 
up  their  noses  at  me !  "  exclaimed  Mittie  to  herself, 
and  she  pressed  her  ear  closer  to  the  thin  partition 
wall  that  divided  the  two  closets. 

Katie's  voice  came  first :  "  If  I'd  been  Daisy 
Dale  I'd  have  fallen  in  love  with  Lord  Rokeby  in 
stead  of  the  Squire's  son,  because  he  was  tall  and 
fair  and  blue-eyed." 

"  Like  Charlie  Downs,"  put  in  Kitty,  mischie 
vously.  "  Oh,  girls !  Look  at  her  blush !  " 

"  I'm  not  blushing,"  protested  Katie,  wildly. 

"  But  you  can't  deny  that  he's  the  one,"  insisted 
Kitty.  "  Even  when  we  were  little  and  used  to  play 
'  lady  come  to  see  '  you  always  played  that  you  were 
Mrs.  Downs,  you  know  you  did." 

"I  don't  care,"  pouted  Katie.  "I  don't  do  it 
now,  and  anyhow  I  don't  keep  an  old  dead  rose  and  a 
valentine  and  a  brass  button  all  tied  up  in  a  fancy 
box  with  blue  ribbon,  the  way  you  do,  because  Guy 
Ferris  gave  them  to  you.  N-ow,  who's  blushing?  " 

"  Katie  Mallard,  that's  something  you  promised 
you'd  never  tell  as  long  as  you  live !  "  cried  Kitty. 
"  I  didn't  think  you'd  be  so  mean  as  to  go  back  on 
your  promise."  She  turned  away  with  such  an  of- 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  169 

fended  air  that  Katie  saw  that  her  teasing  had  gone 
farther  than  she  intended.  She  hastened  to  make 
amends,  for  she  couldn't  be  happy  while  there  was 
the  slightest  misunderstanding  between  her  and  her 
best  friend. 

"  I  didn't  think  you'd  care,  Kitty.  Truly  I  didn't. 
I  wouldn't  have  teased  you  before  the  other  girls, 
but  just  here,  in  our  own  little  club,  it  oughtn't  to 
make  any  difference.  Why,  I  don't  mind  one  bit 
telling  you  girls  that  I  like  Charlie  Downs  better  than 
any  boy  I  knowi,  and  that  I  felt  glad  when  my  apple 
parings  made  his  initials  every  time  I  threw  them 
over  my  shoulder  on  Hallowe'en.  I  don't  think  it's 
anything  to  confess  that  much,  or  to  care  for  things 
a  boy  gives  you  as  you  do  for  the  valentine  and  the 
rose.  That's  a  very  different  matter  from  talking 
about  the  boys  as  Mittie  Dupong  does  about  Carter 
Brown." 

"  Well  I  should  think  so!  "  exclaimed  Lloyd,  in  a 
tone  that  made  Mittie,  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall, 
set  her  teeth  together  angrily.  "  But  Mittie  isn't 
like  the  girls  we've  always  gone  with.  She's  so 
common!  She  plays  kissing- games.  I've  nevah  had 
any  use  for  her  since  Cartah  Brown's  birthday  pahty. 
When  they  played  Pillow  and  Post-office,  every  boy 
in  the  room  kissed  her,  and  Lollie  Briggs  and  all  that 


I/O      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

set  of  girls  that  she  goes  with.  I  couldn't  undah- 
stand  it.  Some  of  them  seemed  so  nice;  Flynn 
Willis,  you  know,  and  Caddie  Bailey.  I  wouldn't 
have  thought  it  of  them." 

"  I  think  they  are  all  nice  girls,"  said  Betty,  "  even 
Mittie.  It's  just  because  they  have  been  brought  up 
that  way.  They've  all  come  from  little  towns  where 
such  games  are  the  custom,  and  they  really  don't 
know  any  better.  Don't  be  so  fierce  about  it,  Lloyd. 
One  of  the  girls  at  our  table  ate  with  her  knife  when 
she  first  came,  and  took  her  soup  out  of  the  end  of 
her  spoon,  and  picked  her  pie  up  in  her  fingers. 
But  she's  as  ladylike  in  her  manners  as  anybody  now. 
She  simply  hadn't  been  taught  how  to  eat.  Those 
girls  will  change,  too,  probabty  in  time." 

"  But  this  is  different,"  persisted  Lloyd.  "  I  know 
whom  you  mean.  It  was  that  little  Prosser  girl. 
But  for  all  her  bad  table  mannahs  she  was  a  lady 
at  heart.  She  didn't  take  part  in  those  games,  and 
she  wouldn't  allow  a  boy  to  take  such  a  liberty  with 
her  as  to  kiss  her,  any  moah  than  one  of  us  girls 
would,  that  had  been  brought  up  heah  in  the  Valley. 
I'll  always  be  glad  we  didn't  ask  Mittie  or  any  of  that 
set  to  join  our  club.  They  may  be  all  right,  but  if 
they  don't  want  to  be  considahed  common  they 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  If  I 

oughtn't  to  do  things  that  make  them  seem  so,  and 
that  are  considahed  so  by  the  best  society." 

The  blue  blood  of  an  old  patrician  family,  proud 
of  its  traditions  and  proud  of  its  generations  of 
gentle  breeding  was  coursing  hotly  through  the  Little 
Colonel's  veins  as  she  spoke.  Mittie  could  imagine 
how  she  looked  as  she  stood  there  passing  judgment, 
her  head  haughtily  lifted,  a  flush  on  the  high-bred 
little  face.  The  mortified  eavesdropper  could  not 
feel  that  she  had  really  done  anything  wrong  at  the 
party,  for  as  Betty  had  said,  such  games  were  al 
ways  played  in  the  country  place  where  she  came 
from,  even  in  the  presence  of  grown  people.  And 
the  sport  was  often  rough  and  boisterous,  as  it  is 
among  the  peasant  class  of  the  older  countries.  But 
measuring  herself  by  Lloyd's  exacting  standard,  she 
somehow  felt  that  she  had  been  found  sadly  wanting, 
and  she  angrily  resented  the  verdict  of  this  little 
patrician,  who,  dainty  and  refined  to  the  very  finger 
tips,  made  her  seem  less  of  a  lady,  less  worthy  of 
respect  than  herself. 

The  next  instant  Lloyd's  scornful  tone  changed  to 
one  of  cheerful  sweetness,  as  she  called,  "  Bring  the 
buttered  plates,  Betty,  please.  The  fudge  is  ready 
to  pour  out." 

Hiding  there  in  the  dark  closet,  Mittie  heard  many 


LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

things  during  the  next  half -hour,  which  she  stored 
away  in  her  memory  for  future  repetition.  The 
secret  of  the  Shadow  Club  was  one,  for  they  dis 
cussed  it  freely,  regretting  that  they  had  accom 
plished  so  little  that  afternoon,  and  discussing  the 
place  of  the  next  meeting. 

With  the  curtains  drawn,  and  the  red  lamp-shade 
casting  a  soft  rosy  glow  over  the  room,  it  seemed 
a  time  for  confidences.  The  rain  came  harder  and 
harder  in  stormy  gusts  against  the  windows,  but  the 
curtains  that  shut  out  the  night  seemed  to  shut 
them  in  with  the  warmth  and  cheer  of  the  cosy  room. 
As  they  drew  their  chairs  around  the  table,  rocking 
comfortably  back  and  forth2  with  the  candy  passing 
from  hand  to  hand,  they  felt  more  closely  drawn 
together  themselves  than  they  ever  had  before.  And 
they  talked  of  things  they  had  never  mentioned  to 
each  other  before.  "  The  Fortunes  of  Daisy  Dale  " 
had  turned  their  thoughts  toward  the  far-off  future, 
and  standing  before  its  closed  gate  as  if  it  were 
the  portal  to  some  unexplored  Paradise,  they  ques 
tioned  each  other  with  eager  wondering,  as  to  what 
might  lie  in  store  for  them  on  the  other  side. 

"Well,"  exclaimed  Katie,  at  length,  "when  I 
grow  up,  I  hope  the  man  who  proposes  to  me  will 
do  it  just  as  Guy  did.  I  think  it's  so  pretty,  that  scene 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON  1 73 

in  the  cherry  lane."  She  quoted,  softly :  "  '  The 
cherry  lane  is  all  in  bridal  white,  my  Marguerite, 
and  when  it  blooms  again  I'll  come  to  claim  my 
bride  —  my  pearl.' ' 

"  I  wonder  if  they  all  talk  that  way,"  mused 
Kitty. 

"  Of  course  not,"  said  Betty,  with  a  laugh.  "  It 
wouldn't  fit  in  most  cases.  Imagine  old  Mr.  An 
drews  calling  his  little  black  skinny  wife  his  Jane 
Maria,  his  pearl!  I  suppose  most  people  do  it  in 
as  commonplace  a  way  as  Laurie  proposed  to  Amy, 
in  '  Little  Women.'  " 

"  I'm  going  to  ask  papa  what  he  said,"  declared 
Katie. 

Then  the  supper-bell  rang,  and  Mittie  heard  no 
more.  As  soon  as  it  was  safe  to  venture  from  her 
hiding-place,  she  followed  them  down  to  the  dining- 
room. 

Anxious  to  get  back  to  the  reading  of  the  book,  the 
members  of  the  Shadow  Club  could  hardly  conceal 
their  disappointment  when  Mrs.  Bond  invited  them 
into  her  parlour  after  supper,  to  try  some  new  games 
which  she  thought  would  interest  them.  Under  the 
circumstances  they  felt  it  would  be  impolite  to  refuse. 
They  whispered  to  each  other  that  they  would  slip 


174      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

away  early,  but  one  thing  after  another  kept  them, 
and  it  was  bedtime  before  they  started  up-stairs. 

"  Oh,  I'm  so  dreadfully  disappointed !  "  wailed 
Katie;  "  I  won't  be  able  to  sleep  a  wink  to-night 
for  wondering  how  that  story  is  going  to  end." 

"  We'll  never  have  such  a  good  chance  to  finish 
it  again,"  said  Allison,  "  and  even  if  Ida  should 
loan  us  the  book,  we'll  not  enjoy  it  as  much  as  if 
she  could  read  it  to  us.  Her  reading  adds  so  much 
to  it." 

Kitty  expressed  the  same  opinion,  and  openly  en 
vied  Lloyd  and  Betty,  who,  being  in  the  same  build 
ing,  might  have  future  opportunities  which  would  be 
denied  them.  At  last  Ida  proposed  that  they  finish 
the  book  after  the  curfew  signal,  and  preparations 
were  hastily  made. 

As  soon  as  Kitty  and  Katie  were  ready  for  bed, 
they  took  possession,  as  before,  of  Lloyd's  bed. 
Lloyd  and  Betty  climbed  into  the  one  on  the  other 
side  of  the  room.  Allison  carried  blankets  and  pil 
lows  from  the  next  room  to  the  divan,  where  she 
made  herself  comfortable,  and  Ida,  putting  a  heavy 
woollen  bathrobe  over  her  night-dress,  and  stretch 
ing  out  in  a  steamer-chair  with  a  shawl  over  her, 
began  to  read.  There  was  a  golf  cape  draped  over 
the  transom.  Paper  was  stuffed  in  the  keyholes,  the 


ONE  RAINY  AFTERNOON 

outside  shutters  were  tightly  closed,  the  blinds 
drawn,  and  the  curtains  pinned  together  over  them, 
so  that  not  a  single  telltale  ray  of  light  could  betray 
them  to  the  outside  world.  Three  lamps  stood  in  a 
row  on  the  table,  so  that  they  might  be  burned  in 
turn,  and  no  one  of  them  be  found  with  the  oil  en 
tirely  consumed  in  the  morning. 

Everywhere  in  the  big  building  was  silence  and 
sleep,  save  in  that  one  room  in  the  west  wing.  There 
Ida's  voice  went  musically  on,  and,  with  eyes  wide 
open  and  every  sense  alert,  the  girls  lay  and  listened. 
The  rain  still  poured  on,  and  the  wind  rattled  the 
casements.  Down-stairs  the  clock  struck  ten,  eleven, 
twelve;  but  not  till  the  bride-bells  rang  out  in  the 
last  chapter  from  the  steeple  of  the  little  stone  church 
in  the  English  village  did  they  lose  interest  for  a 
moment  in  the  "  Fortunes  of  Daisy  Dale."  The 
beautiful  ending  was  something  for  them  to  dream 
over  for  weeks.  It  was  Sunday  morning  before  Ida 
and  the  three  guests  stole  to  their  rooms,  and  crept 
shivering  between  the  cold  sheets. 


CHAPTER   X. 

A   PLOT 

"  IF  there's  anything  I  loathe  it's  a  sneak  and  a 
telltale ! "  The  Little  Colonel's  voice  rang  out  so 
clearly  that  the  girls  in  the  cloak-room  stopped  to 
listen. 

It  was  Monday  morning,  and  the  pupils  were 
assembling  in  the  chapel  for  opening  exercises. 
Lloyd  stood  near  the  door,  the  centre  of  an  indig 
nant  little  group,  which  cast  scornful  glances  at  an 
other  little  group,  whispering  together  by  one  of 
the  windows. 

"  It's  the  most  contemptible  thing  that  evah  hap 
pened  in  the  seminary,"  Lloyd  continued.  "  It's  a 
disgrace  to  have  such  a  girl  in  school." 

Katie,  who  had  been  anxiously  watching  the 
cloak-room  door  for  the  last  five  minutes,  for  the 
appearance  of  Allison  and  Kitty,  suddenly  ex 
claimed,  "  There  they  are  now,  hanging  up  their 
wraps.  Let's  hurry  and  tell  them  before  school 
begins!" 


A  PLOT  177 

The  next  instant  the  two  late  comers  found  them 
selves  in  a  corner,  hemmed  in  by  Betty^  Katie,  and 
Lloyd,  all  so  indignant  that  they  could  scarcely  make 
themselves  understood. 

"  Girls,"  began  Lloyd,  in  a  voice  quavering  with 
anger,  "  you  nevah  heard  anything  so  outrageous ! 
Satahday  aftahnoon,  all  that  time  we  were  making 
fudge  up  in  our  room,  somebody  was  hiding  in  the 
closet  next  to  ours,  listening  to  every  word  we 
said!" 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  gasped  Kitty,  remember 
ing  with  dismay  several  speeches  she  had  made, 
which  would  sound  decidedly  foolish  if  repeated. 

"  Lollie  Briggs  said  so.  We'd  hardly  got  into 
the  room  this  mawning  when  some  of  the  girls  be 
gan  to  laugh  and  repeat  every  word  we  had  said." 

"  It's  all  over  the  school  about  our  Shadow  Club," 
chimed  in  Betty,  "  and  think  how  hard  we  tried  to 
keep  it  secret !  And  the  very  girls  who  would  have 
been  glad  to  join,  if  they  had  been  invited  in  the 
first  place,  are  making  fun  of  it.  They  keep  pointing 
to  the  ground  behind  us,  and  pretend  to  be  amazed 
at  what  they  see  there.  Of  course  they  are  referring 
to  our  shadows,  for  they  make  all  sorts  of  spiteful 
little  side  remarks  about  them." 

"  But  there's  something  worse  than  that,"  added 


178      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Katie,  almost  tearfully.  "  I'll  never  hear  the  last 
of  the  speech  I  made  about  Charlie  Downs  and  the 
apple-paring  initials.  Oh,  you  just  wait!  They've 
got  hold  of  every  foolish  little  thing  we  teased  each 
other  about  that  afternoon;  Guy  Ferris's  valentine 
and  brass  button,  and  the  little  silver  arrow  Malcolm 
Maclntyre  gave  Lloyd  years  ago,  and  all  we  said 
about  the  way  we'd  like  to  be  proposed  to,  you  know 
—  when  we  were  talking  about  the  '  Fortunes  of 
Daisy  Dale.'  They're  telling  it  all  over  the  school, 
and  making  us  appear  too  ridiculous  for  any  use." 

"  Who  could  be  mean  enough  to  hide  and  listen  ?  " 
exclaimed  Allison,  indignantly.  "  The  sneak ! '' 

"  Say  snake,  while  you're  about  it,"  hissed  Kitty. 
"  They're  spelled  with  the  same  letters. 

"  We  haven't  any  idea,"  answered  Betty,  "  or  why 
the  girls  who  are  doing  the  most  teasing  and  talk 
ing  should  take  such  a  spiteful  pleasure  in  it. 
They've  seemed  so  friendly  always,  until  this  morn- 
ing." 

"  Come,  girls,"  called  Mrs.  Gelling,  in  passing. 
"  It's  time  for  the  silence  bell." 

Hurrying  out  of  the  cloak-room,  they  took  their 
places  in  chapel,  and  obediently  opened  their  song- 
books  at  the  signal,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  any  member 
of  the  Shadow  Club  could  have  told  afterward  what 


A  PLOT  179 

was  sung  that  morning.  The  letter  in  Ida's  chate 
laine-bag,  which  Lloyd  had  smuggled  to  her  soon 
after  breakfast,  on  her  return  from  the  post-office, 
absorbed  all  her  thoughts.  The  other  five  girls  were 
busy  with  the  one  question :  "  Who  could  have  been 
such  a  sneak  as  to  listen  and  tell  ?  " 

There  were  six  bad  records  in  every  recitation  that 
the  club  made  that  morning.  Notes  flew  back  and 
forth,  and  anxious  eyes  watched  the  clock,  eager  for 
recess  to  come.  At  the  first  signal,  Lloyd  flew  to 
Ida,  but  before  she  could  outline  the  plan  of  action 
she  and  Allison  had  decided  upon  in  the  history 
class,  Ida  said,  hurriedly,  "  Oh,  Princess,  that  letter 
has  upset  me  so  I  don't  know  whether  I'm  walking 
on  earth  or  air.  I'll  tell  you  to-morrow  —  some 
thing  awfully  important,  but  I've  got  to  plan  some 
thing  now,  so  I  must  go  off  by  myself  and  put  on 
my  thinking-cap.  Oh,  I'm  all  in  a  flutter." 

Wondering  what  news  the  letter  could  have  con 
tained  to  bring  such  a  becoming  flush  to  Ida's  face, 
and  such  a  glow  of  happiness  in  the  beautiful  violet 
eyes,  Lloyd  turned  away  disappointed.  But  she  for 
got  both  the  wonder  and  the  disappointment  a  few 
minutes  later,  as  she  and  Allison  walked  up  and 
down  in  front  of  the  seminary  arm  in  arm.  Kitty 
and  Katie  were  just  behind  them.  Betty  had  not 


l8o      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

yet  come  out,  having  stopped  at  the  sight  of  Janie 
Clung's  tears  to  explain  a  problem  in  arithmetic. 

Lollie  BriggSj  Flynn  Willis,  and  Caddie  Bailey 
stood  on  the  front  steps,  and  each  girl  who  came  out 
of  the  hall  was  called  into  their  midst,  and  told  some 
thing  with  many  significant  glances  toward  the  four 
pacing  back  and  forth  past  them  in  a  fine  unconcern. 

Presently  Caddie  called  out  in  a  voice  intended  for 
them  to  hear,  "  I  wonder  if  anybody  can  guess  this 
conundrum.  Nell,  can  you?" 

The  question  was  addressed  to  one  of  the  older 
girls  who  came  out  of  the  front  door  just  then,  with 
out  a  wrap  around  her.  It  was  a  frosty  morning, 
and  every  one  else  had  either  a  jacket  or  cloak. 

"  Wait  till  I  run  back  and  get  my  golf  cape,"  she 
cried.  "  I  didn't  know  it  was  so  cold." 

"  Now  look  out,"  whispered  Allison  to  Lloyd. 
"  They're  going  to  say  something  to  her  to  try  to 
set  her  against  us.  They're  stopping  everybody  who 
comes  out.  That  makes  eight  already  they've  set 
to  whispering  and  looking  at  us,  all  standing  there 
in  that  crowd  on  the  steps." 

Nell  came  out  again,  hugging  her  golf  cape 
around  her,  and  stood  on  the  top  step.  "  Well, 
what's  your  conundrum  ? "  she  asked,  good-na 
turedly. 


A  PLOT  l8l 

Caddie  slightly  raised  her  voice.  "  What's  the 
difference  between  a  person  who  wouldn't  stoop  to 
'  anything  so  common  as  a  kissing-game,'  and  -i 
person  who  would  get  up  a  goody-goody  club,  pre 
tending  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  yet  all 
the  time  be  using  it  simply  as  an  excuse  to  meet  and 
read  silly  novels  on  the  sly,  and  talk  about  the  boys, 
and  roast  the  other  girls  behind  their  backs,  whom 
they  considered  '  too  common '  to  associate  with 
them?" 

In  a  flash  Lloyd  realized  what  had  offended  Cad 
die,  and  what  was  the  cause  of  her  covert  sneers. 
Whoever  it  was  who  had  played  the  sneak  had  taken 
pains  to  report  every  word  she  had  said  about  the 
girls  who  had  played  Pillow  at  Carter  Brown's  party. 
She  looked  around  to  see  who  had  been  the  most 
active  in  denouncing  the  club.  There  they  were  on 
the  steps,  Flynn  Willis,  Caddie  Bailey,  Lollie  Briggs, 
all  but  Mittie  Dupong.  The  same  girls  she  had 
called  common,  because  they  had  allowed  the  boys 
to  take  a  liberty  which  she  thought  cheapened  them. 
She  knew  now  why  they  were  so  spiteful  in  their 
remarks.  Before  Nell  could  gather  her  wits  to 
gether  for  a  reply,  Lloyd  sprang  forward,  her  eyes 
flashing. 

"  Why  don't  you  come  straight  out  and  say  what 


1 82      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

you  mean,  Cad  Bailey?  "  she  cried.  "  You're  only 
telling  part  of  the  truth.  Now  I'll  tell  it  all.  I 
did  say  behind  your  backs  that  I  thought  it  was 
common  to  play  kissing-games,  and  now  I  say  it 
to  yoah  faces.  I  can't  help  thinking  it.  I've  been 
brought  up  that  way,  and  if  you've  been  brought  up 
differently,  then  you've  a  right  to  think  yoah  way. 
If  I've  hurt  yoah  feelings,  I  beg  yoah  pahdon,  but 
I  have  a  right  to  express  my  opinion  in  my  own 
room  to  my  best  friends.  We  were  not  '  roasting ' 
anybody.  We  only  made  a  criticism  that  you  must 
expect  to  have  made  on  you,  whenevah  you  do  things 
that  are  common.  And  what  are  you  going  to  say 
about  the  person  who  hid  and  listened  all  aftahnoon  ? 
Somebody  was  sneak  enough  not  only  to  hide  in  a 
closet  and  betray  secrets  that  no  girl  of  honah  would 
have  listened  to,  but  she  misrepresented  the  club  in 
repeating  them." 

Lloyd's  temper  was  rapidly  getting  the  best  of 
her,  but  in  the  middle  of  her  anger  she  seemed  to 
hear  her  father  saying,  in  the  playful  way  in  which 
he  used  to  warn  her  long  ago,  "  Look  out,  little 
daughter,  the  tiger  is  getting  loose."  She  stopped 
short. 

"  Who  did  that?  "  cried  Nell.  "  I  didn't  suppose 
there  was  such  a  dishonourable  girl  in  the  school." 


A  PLOT  183 

"  Neither  did  I,"  answered  Flynn  Willis,  quickly. 
"  I  never  stopped  to  ask  how  the  report  started.  I 
was  so  mad  at  being  talked  about  that  I  did  just  what 
Cad  Bailey  told  me  to  do,  repeated  everything  I  was 
told,  just  to  tease  the  club  and  get  even." 

All  eyes  were  turned  inquiringly  to  Caddie 
Bailey. 

"  I  don't  know  how  it  started,"  she  cried.  "  Hon 
estly  I  don't.  Lollie  Briggs  told  me.  She  and  sev 
eral  girls  were  talking  about  it  this  morning  before 
breakfast,  out  in  the  hall.  They  were  all  furious, 
and  they  told  me  lots  of  things  to  say  that  would 
tease  Lloyd  and  the  rest  of  them  nearly  to  death.  I 
was  mad,  too,  but  I  don't  know  who  told  in  the  first 
place." 

"  It  was  you,  Lollie  Briggs,  who  told  me  that 
somebody  had  hid  in  the  Clark  girls'  closet,"  cried 
Lloyd.  "  You  know  you  did,  when  I  demanded  to 
know  who  had  started  all  this  talk.  Who  was  it  ?  " 

"  I  promised  I  wouldn't  tell,"  said  Lollie,  sullenly, 
"  and  I  won't.  You  needn't  ask,  for  no  power  on 
earth  could  drag  it  out  of  me.  So  there!  " 

"  It's  like  the  story  of  Chicken  Little,"  laughed 
Nell.  "'Who  told  you,  Goosey-Lucy?  Ducky- 
Lucky.  Who  told  you,  Ducky-Lucky?  Henny- 
Penny.  Who  told  you,  Henny-Penny  ? '  Seems  to 


184      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

me  I'd  make  it  my  business  to  find  out  who  this 
particularly  contemptible  Chicken  Little  happens  to 
be,  before  I'd  report  any  more  of  her  tales." 

Nell  swept  back  into  the  hall,  and,  as  the  four 
girls  started  to  resume  their  walk,  Betty  knocked 
on  the  cloak-room  window,  beckoning  violently  for 
them  to  come  inside.  They  ran  in  pell-mell  and 
shut  the  door  behind  them. 

"  I've  found  out !  "  cried  Betty,  in  a  tragic  whis 
per.  "  It  was  Mittie  Dupong !  Cassie  found  her 
class-badge  on  their  closet  floor,  and  just  now 
brought  it  down  to  her.  She  denied  it  was  hers, 
but  there's  no  mistaking  that  queer  little  stick-pin 
and  chain  fastened  to  it  that  she  uses  as  a  guard. 
She's  the  only  one  in  school  who  has  one  like  that 
—  an  owl's  head  in  a  wishbone,  you  know.  Besides, 
there  were  her  initials,  M.  D.,  on  the  under  side  of 
the  badge.  Cassie  turned  it  over  and  showed  them 
to  her.  She  took  it,  then,  but  denied  having  been 
in  the  closet,  and  was  so  confused  and  contradicted 
herself  so  many  times  that  anybody  could  see  that 
she  felt  caught  and  was  telling  a  story.  She  even 
vowed  that  she  hadn't  been  near  the  west  wing  for  a 
week.  Then  she  ran  out  and  banged  the  door,  but 
Janie  Qung  said,  '  Oh,  what  a  story !  I  met  her 


A  PLOT  185 

coming  out  of  there  Saturday  night,  on  the  way 
down  to  supper.' ' 

"  What  do  you  think  we  ought  to  do  about  it?  " 
asked  Katie.  That  was  a  question  no  one  could 
answer.  In  the  first  flush  of  their  indignation,  it 
seemed  to  them  that  nothing  they  could  do  to  Mit- 
tie  would  be  sufficient  punishment  for  such  an  act 
of  meanness.  They  felt  that  she  was  a  disgrace  to 
the  school,  and  decided  that  they  would  be  confer 
ring  a  benefit  on  the  seminary  if  they  could  succeed 
in  getting  rid  of  her. 

Even  Betty  failed  for  the  time  to  remember  the 
"  Road  of  the  Loving  Heart "  she  was  trying  to 
leave  behind  her  in  every  one's  memory ;  and,  if  the 
little  talisman  on  her  finger  pricked  her  tender  con 
science  once  or  twice,  she  silenced  it  with  the  re 
flection  that  it  was  her  duty  to  help  punish  the  doer 
of  such  a  contemptible  deed.  The  name  of  the  club 
finally  suggested  the  means. 

"  She  told  all  the  secrets  of  the  Shadow  Club, 
and  spoiled  it,"  said  Katie.  "  Now  we  just  ought 
to  shadow  her.  Haunt  her,  you  know,  like  the  Ku 
Klux  Klan,  or  the  White  Caps,  so  she'll  leave  school 
and  be  afraid  to  listen  again  as  long  as  she  lives." 

"  Yes,"  agreed  Kitty.  "  We'll  hoodoo  her.  That 
is  the  way." 


1 86      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Such  a  plan  never  would  have  been  thought  of 
in  a  Northern  school.  Even  in  this  little  Kentucky 
seminary  it  is  doubtful  if  it  could  have  been  car 
ried  out  had  not  previous  events  paved  the  way. 
There  was  scarcely  a  pupil  in  the  school  whose 
earliest  impressions  had  not  been  tinged  in  some 
degree  by  the  superstitions  of  some  old  coloured 
nurse  or  family  servant.  Even  Lloyd  had  not  es 
caped  them  entirely,  in  spite  of  all  her  mother's 
watchful  care.  Mom  Beck  knew  better  than  to  talk 
of  such  things  openly  before  her,  but  she  had  hinted 
of  them  to  the  other  servants  in  her  presence,  till 
Lloyd  had  a  vague  uneasiness  when  she  dreamed  of 
muddy  water,  or  spilled  the  salt,  or  saw  a  bird 
flying  against  a  window.  From  babyhood  such 
happenings  had  been  associated  in  her  mind  with 
Mom  Beck's  portents  of  ill-luck. 

There  was  not  a  coloured  person  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  who  could  have  explained  why  so  many 
graves  in  the  negro  cemetery  had  bottles  or  fruit- 
jars  placed  upon  them,  inside  of  which  were  care 
fully  sealed  the  whitest  of  chicken  feathers.  Un 
doubtedly  they  were  the  relic  of  some  old  African 
fetish,  and  a  reverence  for  them  had  been  handed 
down  from  grizzled  grandsire  to  little  pickaninny 
since  the  beginning  of  the  slave-trade.  In  the  same 


A   PLOT  IS/ 

way  had  come  all  those  other  superstitions  at  which 
white  people  laughed,  but  which  influenced  many 
of  them  also  to  some  extent.  For  many  a  man  who 
scoffed  most,  felt  more  comfortable  when  he  saw 
the  new  moon  in  an  open  sky  than  when  he  caught 
first  sight  of  it  through  the  trees;  and  more  than 
one,  having  once  started  on  a  journey,  would  not 
have  turned  back,  no  matter  what  important  thmg 
was  left  behind,  preferring  to  do  without  at  any 
cost  or  inconvenience  rather  than  risk  the  ill-luck 
the  turning  back  would  bring. 

Lloyd  knew  more  than  one  housekeeper  in  the 
neighbourhood  who,  for  the  same  reason,  would 
not  allow  the  ashes  emptied  after  sundown,  or  an 
umbrella  to  be  raised  in  the  house;  and  who  would 
turn  pale  if  a  mirror  was  broken  or  a  picture  fell 
from  the  wall  or  a  dog  howled  in  the  night. 

Probably  not  a  pupil  in  the  school  would  have 
admitted  that  she  believed  in  ghosts,  yet  few  would 
have  been  brave  enough  to  venture  into  the  cellar 
at  night  after  Mary  Phillips's  encounter  with  the 
spirit  of  the  "  veiled  lady  "  on  Hallowe'en.  That 
had  been  a  frequent  topic  of  conversation  since  that 
night,  and  had  done  much  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  plot  the  club  concocted. 

So  Kitty's  proposition  was  received  with  enthu- 


1 88      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

siasm.  The  performance  began  next  day  when  she 
slipped  up  behind  Mittie  in  the  cloak-room,  and 
solemnly  touched  her  three  times  in  quick  succession 
on  the  left  ear  with  something  she  held  in  her  hand. 
It  felt  soft  and  furry,  and  Mittie,  who  had  a  horror 
of  caterpillars,  gave  a  little  shriek  as  she  put  up 
her  handkerchief  to  brush  it  away. 

Kitty  had  already  disappeared  into  the  chapel, 
but  Katie  was  waiting2  ready  to  begin  her  part  of 
the  performance. 

"  Did  you  see  that?  "  she  said  to  Janie  Clung,  in 
an  awed  tone,  just  loud  enough  for  Mittie  to  hear, 
and  yet  low  enough  to  seem  confidential. 

"  I  know  people  who  would  go  stark,  raving  crazy 
if  that  was  done  to  them.  What  for?  I  thought 
everybody  knew  what  for.  My  old  nurse  used  to 
say  that  to  be  touched  three  times  on  the  ear  by 
the  left  hind  foot  of  a  rabbit  that  had  been  killed 
in  a  graveyard  in  the  dark  of  the  moon  by  a  cross 
eyed  person,  was  the  worst  luck  anybody  could 
have."  She  lowered  her  voice  a  trifle.  "It's  a 
hoodoo-mark!  You're  marked  for  the  haunts  to 
follow  you! " 

"  The  what?  "  asked  another  girl  who  stood  near. 

"  The  haunts  —  ghosts  —  you  know.  Jim  Briddle 
calls  them  '  ha'nts.'  Nobody  could  be  more  cross- 


A  PLOT  189 

eyed  than  he  is,  and  he's  the  one  who  gave  that 
rabbit's  foot  to  Ranald  Walton,  and  Ranald  gave 
it  to  Kitty.  I  should  think  that  Mittie  Dupong 
would  feel  mighty  creepy  if  she  knew  what's  ahead 
of  her." 

Mittie  heard  and  did  feel  creepy,  although  she 
shrugged  her  shoulders  and  tried  hard  to  appear 
unconcerned.  The  fact  that  the  club  seemed  to 
place  so  much  reliance  in  the  hoodoo  made  a  strong 
impression  on  Janie  Clung,  and  gave  it  a  weight 
it  would  not  have  possessed  otherwise  when  the 
occurrence  was  repeated  to  the  other  girls.  Before 
the  week  was  over  it  was  whispered  around  the 
school  that  the  charm  was  really  working. 


CHAPTER   XL 
A'  WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING 

EVERY  day  since  the  first  of  November  there  had 
been  a  letter  for  Ida  in  the  Sherman's  post-office  box, 
under  cover  of  Lloyd's  address.  Lloyd  had  grown 
to  dread  the  afternoon  walks  with  the  school,  for 
she  was  in  a  flutter  of  nervousness  from  the  moment 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  post-office  until  the  letter 
was  safe  in  Ida's  possession.  There  was  always 
the  fear  that  Betty  might  get  to  the  window  first, 
or  that  she  might  catch  sight  of  the  envelope,  ad 
dressed  with  many  flourishes  in  a  big,  bold  hand ;  or 
that  that  letter  might  be  the  only  one,  as  it  often  was, 
and  Betty  might  wonder  why  Lloyd's  face  should 
grow  so  red  when  she  answered,  "  No,  nothing  for 
us  this  time." 

It  was  easier  to  manage  after  the  weather  turned 
cold  enough  to  furnish  an  excuse  for  carrying  a 
muff,  but  even  then  she  fancied  that  Miss  Mattie 

looked  at  her  curiously  sometimes,  when  she  thrust 

190 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING 

the  daily  letter  hastily  out  of  sight  without  a  second 
glance.  She  never  went  through  the  performance 
without  wishing  that  it  might  be  the  last  time  that 
she  should  be  placed  in  such  an  uncomfortable  posi 
tion;  but  afterward  she  always  reproached  herself 
for  making  such  a  wish.  It  seemed  a  very  poor 
friendship  that  could  not  stand  a  little  test  like 
that.  It  was  such  a  small  thing  to  do  when  the 
happiness  of  her  friend's  whole  life  was  at  stake. 

Then  she  had  her  reward  in  the  evenings,  when 
Ida,  with  her  arms  around  her,  whispered  her  un 
dying  gratitude,  or  read  her  extracts  from  her 
letters,  which  gave  her  glimpses  into  a  romance 
far  more  beautiful  than  the  "  Fortunes  of  Daisy 
Dale,"  or  the  "  Heiress  of  Dorn,"  or  any  of  the 
others  they  had  read  since. 

A  sort  of  circulating  library  had  started  since 
the  rainy  night  the  Shadow  Club  read  its  first 
volume.  Ida  had  a  pile  of  paper-covered  books 
in  her  closet  which  she  pronounced  fully  as  interest 
ing  as  the  one  she  had  read  aloud ;  so  "  Elsie's 
Wooing,"  "  Fair  but  False,"  and  the  "  Heiress  of 
Dorn  "  began  passing  in  turn  from  the  covers  of 
Katie's  geography  to  Kitty's,  and  from  Lloyd's  his 
tory  to  Betty's  and  Allison's.  They  read  at  recess, 
they  read  before  school,  and  more  than  once  some 


1 92      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

exciting  chapter  proved  too  interesting  to  be  laid 
aside  in  study  time  for  the  work  of  the  hour. 

After  a  few  volumes  of  such  tales,  Betty  became 
fired  with  an  ambition  to  write  one  herself,  and 
soon  became  so  absorbed  in  her  pastime  that  she 
could  think  of  little  else.  Eugene  was  the  name 
of  her  hero,  and  Gladys  was  the  maiden  who  com 
bined  all  the  beauty  and  virtues  possible  for  one 
mundane  creature  to  possess.  The  whole  club  was 
consulted  as  to  the  colour  of  her  eyes  and  hair, 
and  many  points  about  which  the  little  author  was 
undecided.  They  came  in  time  to  regard  Eugene 
and  Gladys  as  real  personages,  in  whom  they  had 
a  family  interest.  Lloyd  had  bits  of  the  story  read 
to  her  sometimes  when  they  were  getting  ready 
for  bed.  Betty  lost  interest  in  everything  to  such 
an  extent  that  she  ceased  to  be  sociable,  and  spent 
most  of  her  time  alone,  dreaming  out  different 
scenes  in  the  story,  which  filled  her  mind  to  the 
exclusion  of  even  her  lessons. 

One  afternoon,  near  the  middle  of  November, 
Lloyd,  hurrying  through  the  lower  hall  with  an 
open  letter  in  her  hand,  met  the  president. 

"  Oh,  Doctah  Wells !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I  was 
just  going  to  yoah  room.  Heah  is  a  note  mothah 
sent  you  in  the  lettah  that  came  to-day.  She  has 


A  WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  193 

written  for  some  things  she  needs,  and  wants  Betty 
and  me  to  walk  up  to  Locust  aftah  school  with  a 
message  to  the  servants  about  packing  them,  if  you'll 
excuse  us  from  the  regulah  promenade." 

"  Certainly,"  he  answered,  glancing  over  Mrs. 
Sherman's  gracefully  written  request. 

"  But  Betty  has  such  a  bad  cold,"  continued 
Lloyd,  "  that  the  matron  thinks  she  oughtn't  to 
go  out  to  walk  to-day,  and  it's  lonely  going  back 
home  by  myself,  when  it's  all  shut  up.  May  I  take 
Ida  Shane  with  me  instead?  She's  nevah  seen 
Locust  from  the  inside,  and  I'd  love  to  show  it  to 
her.  You  know,"  a  little  smile  dimpling  her  face 
as  she  spoke,  "  I  can't  help  being  proud  of  the  old 
place." 

"  You  have  good  reason,"  said  the  professor, 
smiling  back  at  her  kindly.  "  It  is  certainly  a  beau 
tiful  old  homestead.  Yes,  I  have  no  objection  to 
Ida's  going  with  you." 

"  Oh,  thank  you !  "  cried  Lloyd.  She  hurried  up 
the  stairs  to  Ida's  room,  calling  excitedly  as  she 
reached  the  door,  "  Yes,  he  says  you  may  go.  Hurry 
and  put  on  your  things  so  that  we  can  have  as 
long  time  as  possible  up  there." 

Betty  had  gone  into  the  matron's  room  in  her 
absence.  It  took  Lloyd  only  a  moment  to  slip  into 


IQ4     LITTLE  COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

her  hat  and  coat.  Then  catching  up  her  muff  and 
thrusting  it  under  her  arm,  she  started  back  to  Ida's 
room,  buttoning  her  gloves  as  she  went.  Ida  had 
taken  down  her  hair  and  was  deliberately  rearrang 
ing  it  before  the  mirror. 

"Oh,  what  did  you  do  that  for?"  cried  Lloyd, 
half-impatiently.  "  It  looked  all  right  as  it  was. 
We're  not  going  to  see  any  one  but  the  servants. 
There's  no  use  wearing  your  best  hat."  She  glanced 
at  the  mass  of  velvet  and  plumes  lying  on  the  bed. 
"Just  pin  your  hair  up  any  fashion  and  stick  on 
your  mortar-board.  That'll  do." 

"  Shut  the  door,  please,"  said  Ida,  in  a  low  tone. 
"  I  have  something  to  tell  you."  She  bent  nearer 
the  mirror,  drawing  the  comb  through  the  fluffy 
pompadour.  "  We  are  going  to  see  some  one  this 
afternoon.  Edwardo  is  in  the  Valley" 

Lloyd  dropped  her  muff  at  this  surprising  an 
nouncement,  but  Ida  went  on,  calmly.  "  I've  been 
expecting  him  for  several  days.  He  comes  to  Lloyds- 
boro  sometimes  to  visit  his  cousin.  I've  lain  awake 
nights  trying  to  arrange  some  way  to  see  him. 
This  is  a  thousand  times  better  than  any  way  I 
could  think  of.  I'm  the  luckiest  girl  that  ever 
lived  to  have  such  a  friend  as  you  to  plan  for  me, 
Princess/' 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  195 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean/'  exclaimed  Lloyd. 
"  I  haven't  planned  anything." 

"  No,  not  intentionally,  but  look  how  easy  you 
have  made  it  for  me  to  have  an  interview.  He'll 
be  on  the  watch  for  the  seminary  girls  to  pass  by 
the  store,  for  I  was  to  manage  to  leave  a  note  there 
for  him,  telling  him  where  I  can  see  him.  All 
I  have  to  do  now  is  to  signal  him  to  follow,  and 
we  can  have  a  good  long  talk  at  Locust  while  you 
are  giving  the  servants  their  orders.  You  don't 
mind,  do  you  ?  "  she  asked,  as  Lloyd  continued  to 
stare  at  her  without  saying  anything. 

"  No.  Oh,  no !  Of  co'se  not,"  answered  Lloyd, 
with  a  confused  laugh.  "  Only  it  makes  me  feel 
so  que'ah  to  think  that  I'm  really  going  to  see  him. 
It's  just  as  if  Lord  Rokeby  or  the  squire's  son  had 
stepped  out  of  the  book.  I  feel  as  if  I  were  in 
a  book  myself  since  you  told  me  that.  This  is 
the  way  it  would  be  on  the  page,  if  we  could  stand 
off  and  read  about  ourselves :  '  And  Violet's  little 
friend  led  the  way  down  the  long  avenue,  and  there 
on  the  threshold  of  her  home,  after  months  of  cruel 
separation,  the  reunited  lovers  kept  their  tryst.' ' 

Ida  laughed  happily.  "  You'll  have  a  book  written 
before  Betty  is  half-started  if  you  go  on  at  that 
rate.  Now  tell  me.  Do  I  look  all  right?" 


196      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

She  was  settling  the  big  picture-hat  in  place  over 
her  soft  hair  as  she  anxiously  asked  the  question. 
Lloyd  regarded  her  critically,  tipping  her  head  a 
trifle  to  one  side  as  she  looked. 

"  Put  your  hat  a  hairbreadth  farther  over  your 
face,"  she  exclaimed.  "There!  That's  lovely.  Oh, 
Violet,  that  shade  of  velvet  is  so  becoming  to  you. 
It's  just  the  colah  of  yoah  eyes.  I  nevah  saw  you 
look  so  beautiful." 

A  becoming  pink  flushed  Ida's  cheeks.  She  bent 
her  head  over  the  bunch  of  violets  pinned  on  the 
lapel  of  her  coat.  "  It's  dear  of  you  to  think  so," 
she  said,  "  and  it's  dear  of  you  to  send  me  these 
violets  every  week.  These  are  unusually  sweet. 
I'm  so  glad  I  have  a  fresh  bunch  for  to-day  —  this 
happy  day." 

Lloyd  took  the  keenest  delight  in  watching  the 
graceful  girl  sweep  down  the  hall  ahead  of  her. 
From  the  plumes  of  the  picture-hat  to  the  hem  of 
her  stylish  gown  she  thoroughly  satisfied  Lloyd's 
artistic  instinct  for  the  beautiful.  She  gave  her 
arm  an  adoring  little  squeeze  as  they  passed  down 
the  stairs  together. 

Out  on  the  road  she  glanced  up  at  Ida  again. 
Happiness  had  not  made  her  radiant,  as  it  did 
Daisy  Dale,  but  there  was  a  soft  light  in  the  violet 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  1 9? 

eyes  which  made  Lloyd  think  of  a  picture  she  had 
seen  of  a  vestal  maiden  on  her  way  to  guard  the 
holy  altar  fires. 

Lloyd's  heart  began  to  beat  faster  as  she  realized 
that  every  step  was  taking  them  nearer  to  Edwardo. 
She  pictured  him  again  in  her  imagination,  as  she 
had  done  so  many  times  before.  She  would  know 
that  pale,  serious  face  with  its  flashing  eyes  any 
where  she  might  meet  him,  she  was  sure. 

Neither  of  them  spoke  as  they  hurried  along  the 
path  through  the  lower  part  of  Clovercroft  and 
pushed  open  the  woodland  gate.  But  as  they  stepped 
up  on  the  platform  in  front  of  the  depot,  Lloyd  said, 
"  Let's  cross  the  track  heah,  and  go  up  on  the  othah 
side  of  the  road.  Then  we'll  not  have  to  pass  the 
waiting-rooms.  There's  always  so  many  people 
loafing  around  the  window  of  the  telegraph-office." 

Instinctively  she  felt  that  while  a  little  girl  like 
herself  would  attract  no  attention,  Ida  in  her  long 
sweeping  dress  that  she  held  up  so  gracefully,  and 
the  big  hat  drooping  over  her  pretty  face,  and  the 
stylish  fur  collar,  and  the  violets  on  her  coat,  made 
a  picture  that  any  one  would  turn  to  look  at  twice. 
She  could  not  bear  to  think  of  the  bold  glances 
that  might  be  cast  after  her  by  the  loafers  around 
the  depot.  It  seemed  to  her  little  short  of  sacrilege, 


LITTLE    COLONEL    AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

although  she  could  not  have  put  the  feeling  into 
words,  for  any  eyes  but  Edwardo's  to  rest  upon 
her  as  she  went  on  her  way  to  this  meeting  with 
that  vestal-maiden  look  upon  her  face. 

"  Very  well,"  assented  Ida.  "  You  know  we  want 
to  stop  at  the  store.  I  want  to  get  some  chocolate 
creams  if  they  have  any  fresh  ones." 

Lloyd's  heart  gave  a  frightened  thump  as  she 
remembered  that  it  was  in  the  store  that  Edwardo 
would  be  watching  presently  for  the  seminary  girls 
to  go  by.  It  was  half  an  hour  earlier  than  they 
usually  passed,  but  there  was  a  possibility  that  he 
might  be  there.  In  less  than  a  minute  she  might 
be  face  to  face  with  the  live  hero  of  a  real  romance. 
It  was  with  an  odd  feeling  of  mingled  relief  and 
disappointment  that  she  glanced  around  the  store 
and  saw  only  familiar  faces.  A  young  man  whom 
she  knew  by  sight  was  perched  on  the  bookkeeper's 
high  stool  at  the  back  of  the  store,  so  absorbed  in 
the  Louisville  evening  paper  which  the  last  mail- 
train  had  brought  out  that  he  did  not  look  up.  A 
small  coloured  boy  stood  patiently  by  the  stove 
waiting  for  Lis  coal-oil  can  to  be  filled.  One  of 
the  clerks  was  tying  up  a  package  of  groceries  for 
Frazer  to  carry  over  to  Clovercroft,  and  the  other 
was  showing  ginghams  to  Mrs.  Walton's  Barbry. 


I 


B 
§ 

. 


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"  HE    HELD   IT   ASIDE   FOR    THEM    BOTH    TO    PASS    THROUGH.** 


A    WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S   CLOTHING  199 

"  Be  with  you  in  a  moment,  please,"  called  the 
first  clerk  as  the  girls  entered.  Lloyd  stopped  in 
front  of  the  show-case  near  the  door,  and  began 
idly  examining  the  various  styles  of  jewelry  and 
letter-paper  displayed  within.  She  had  almost  de 
cided  to  invest  in  a  certain  little  enamelled  pin  which 
she  knew  would  delight  Mom  Beck,  and  take  it  up 
to  her  as  a  surprise,  when  Barbry  stepped  beside 
her  with  a  polite  greeting  and  an  inquiry  about  her 
grandfather's  health. 

While  she  was  still  talking  with  Barbry,  Ida 
came  up  flushed  and  excited.  She  thrust  her  bag 
of  chocolates  into  her  muff,  and,  catching  up  her 
skirts,  said,  hurriedly,  "  Come  on,  I'm  ready." 

Lloyd  started  at  once  to  follow  her  to  the  door, 
but  looked  back  to  nod  assent  to  Barbry's  last  re 
mark,  and  in  turning  again  almost  ran  into  the 
young  fellow  who  had  been  reading  at  the  book 
keeper's  desk.  He  was  hurrying  after  Ida  to  open 
the  door  for  her.  He  held  it  aside  for  them  both 
to  pass  through,  and  a  flush  of  displeasure  dyed 
Lloyd's  face  as  she  saw  the  admiring  glance  he 
cast  boldly  at  Ida. 

"  He  needn't  have  gone  so  far  out  of  his  way 
to  have  done  that,"  exclaimed  Lloyd,  as  they  started 
up  the  road  toward  Locust.  "  It  was  the  clerk's 


2OO      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

place  to  open  the  doah,  and  he  nearly  knocked  him 
down,  trying  to  get  there  first." 

"  Who?  "  inquired  Ida,  innocently.  She  was  sev 
eral  steps  in  advance,  and  could  not  see  Lloyd's 
face. 

"  That  horrid  Mistah  Ned  Bannon.  I  can't  bea'h 
him.  Papa  Jack  told  mothah  she  must  nevah  invite 
him  to  the  house,  undah  any  circumstances,  because 
he  wasn't  fit  for  Betty  and  me  to  know2  and  —  " 

She  stopped  abruptly,  for  Ida  turned  with  a  white, 
pained  face. 

"  Oh,  Lloyd !  "  she  cried.  "  How  can  you  hurt 
me  so?  Don't  believe  any  of  those  dreadful  things 
you  hear  about  him !  "  Then,  seeing  from  Lloyd's 
amazed  expression  that  she  failed  to  understand  the 
situation,  she  added,  in  a  distressed  tone,  "  He  is 
Edwardo" 

If  Ida  had  struck  her  on  the  face  she  could  not 
have  been  more  amazed.  She  stood  staring  at  her 
helplessly,  unable  to  say  a  word. 

"  I  must  be  dreaming  all  this,"  she  thought. 
"  After  awhile  I'll  surely  wake  up  and  find  I've  had 
a  horrible  nightmare." 

But  the  distress  in  Ida's  voice  was  too  real  to 
be  a  dream.  She  was  biting  her  lips  to  keep  back 
the  tears.  After  one  -  look  into  Lloyd's  dismayed 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  2OI 

face  she  turned  away  and  began  moving  slowly  on 
toward  Locust.  Lloyd  walked  beside  her,  mechani 
cally.  She  could  not  shake  off  the  feeling  that 
she  must  be  in  a  dream.  From  time  to  time  she  cast 
a  half-frightened  glance  toward  Ida.  She  felt  that 
she  had  wounded  her  so  deeply  that  nothing  she 
might  say  could  ever  make  amends.  When  she 
saw  a  tear  course  slowly  down  her  cheek  and  splash 
down  on  the  bunch  of  flowers  on  her  coat,  she 
clasped  her  arm  impulsively,  saying,  "  Oh,  Violet, 
deah,  don't  cry!  I  wouldn't  have  hurt  you  for 
worlds.  I  didn't  have  the  faintest  idea  that  he  was 
the  one." 

"  It  isn't  so  much  what  you  said,"  answered  Ida, 
controlling  her  voice  with  an  effort,  "  but  I'd  counted 
so  much  on  your  friendship  for  him.  And  now  to 
know  that  people  have  prejudiced  you  against  him 
before  you've  had  a  chance  to  meet  him  and  find 
out  for  yourself  that  they're  mistaken  — "  She 
stopped  with  a  sob.  "  Under  all  his  wild  ways  he's 
good  and  noble  and  true  at  heart,  and  it  isn't  fair 
for  everybody  to  condemn  him  for  what  he  has  done, 
and  stand  in  his  way  when  he's  trying  so  hard  to 
do  better." 

One  little  hand  in  the  muff  was  bare,  and  Lloyd 
saw  the  gleam  of  the  pearl  on  it  as  Ida  took  out 


2O2      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

her  handkerchief  and  dabbed  it  hastily  across  her 
eyes.  It  brought  back  all  that  scene  in  the  moon 
lighted  orchard,  and  Ida's  blushing  confession : 
"  He  says  that  is  what  my  life  means  to  him  —  a 
pearl.  That  if  it  wasn't  for  my  love  and  prayers 
he  wouldn't  care  what  became  of  him  or  what  he 
did.  Do  you  blame  me  for  disregarding  aunt's 
wishes?"  And  again  as  on  that  night  the  Little 
Colonel's  heart  swelled  with  an  indignant  "  No !  " 
Again  she  arrayed  herself  beside  her  friend,  ready 
to  do  battle  for  her  against  the  whole  world  if  nec 
essary. 

Wonderfully  comforted  by  Lloyd's  protests  of 
sympathy  and  understanding,  Ida  dried  her  eyes 
and  looked  back  over  her  shoulder,  saying,  "  He's 
not  in  sight  yet.  I  told  him  not  to  start  for  fifteen 
minutes,  and  then  to  come  the  long  way,  around 
through  Tanglewood,  so  nobody  could  think  he  was 
following  us.  That  will  give  you  time  to  show  me 
over  the  house." 

As  Lloyd  swung  open  the  entrance  gate  and 
started  down  the  long  avenue,  a  queer  feeling  crept 
over  her  that  she  could  not  have  expressed  had  she 
tried.  It  seemed  to  her  that  the  old  trees  were  almost 
human,  and  stretched  out  their  bare  branches  toward 
her  with  an  offering  of  protection  and  welcome 


A  WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  20$ 

that  was  like  the  greeting  of  old  friends.  Yet  at 
the  same  time  she  felt  the  silent  challenge  of  these 
old  family  sentinels,  and  involuntarily  answered  it 
by  a  slight  lifting  of  the  head  and  a  trifle  more  erect- 
ness  of  carriage  as  she  passed.  They  seemed  to  ex 
pect  it  of  her,  that  she  should  walk  past  them,  as 
all  the  Lloyds  had  walked,  with  the  proud  con 
sciousness  that  none  could  gainsay  their  counter 
sign  of  gentle  birth  and  breeding  which  spoke  even 
in  their  tread. 

It  was  the  first  time  she  had  been  back  to  Locust 
since  the  beginning  of  school,  and  Ida  felt  some 
subtile  change  in  her  as  soon  as  they  passed  inside 
the  great  gate.  The  Little  Colonel's  personality  as 
serted  itself  as  it  had  not  at  the  seminary.  There 
she  was  Ida's  adoring  little  shadow,  completely 
under  the  spell  of  her  influence.  Here,  swayed  by 
the  stronger  influence  of  old  associations,  she  was 
herself  again;  the  same  well-poised,  imperious  little 
creature  that  she  was  when  she  first  coolly  "  bearded 
the  lion  in  his  den,  the  Douglas  in  his  hall,"  and 
brought  the  old  Colonel  to  unconditional  surrender. 

Mom  Beck  came  up  from  the  servants'  cottage 
and  unlocked  the  house  for  them,  and  after  reading 
her  the  list  of  articles  to  be  packed;  Lloyd  left  her 
in  the  linen-room  and  began  a  tour  of  the  house. 


2O4      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

In  the  pleasure  of  acting  as  hostess  and  showing 
Ida  the  attractions  of  Locust,  she  would  have  for 
gotten  that  an  unwelcome  guest  was  on  his  way, 
had  not  Ida's  restless  glances  from  every  front 
window  they  passed,  reminded  her. 

The  quarter  of  an  hour  was  almost  over  when 
she  led  the  way  into  the  long  drawing-room,  which 
she  had  reserved  until  last.  "  Of  co'se  it  doesn't 
look  as  it  does  when  we  are  living  heah.  It  makes 
such  a  difference  having  the  curtains  down  and  the 
furniture  covahed ;  but  I  want  you  to  see  my  harp." 
She  I  egan  slipping  the  cover  from  the  tall  burnished 
frame. 

"  It  belonged  to  my  grandmothah  Amanthis,  and 
I  am  proudah  of  it  than  anything  I  own.  That's 
her  portrait  ovah  the  mantel.  Isn't  she  beautiful? 
Somehow  I  nevah  can  call  her  just  grandmothah, 
as  if  she  were  an  old  lady.  She  nevah  lived  to  be 
one,  you  know.  I  always  have  to  add  her  name, 
Amanthis,  and  I  think  of  her  as  she  looks  there  in 
the  pictuah,  the  young  girl  she  was  when  grand- 
fathah  first  saw  her^  a  June  rose  in  her  hair  and 
anothah  at  her  throat.  '  The  fairest  flowah  in  all 
Kentucky,'  he  told  me  once.  That's  always  seemed 
such  a  sweet  romance  to  me.  She  wasn't  much  olclah 
than  you  when  he  brought  her  here  a  bride.  He 


A  WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  205 

always  talks  about  her  when  the  locusts  bloom,  for 
they  were  in  blossom  then,  and  the  avenue  was  white 
with  them." 

Lloyd  had  expected  more  outspoken  admiration 
from  Ida  when  she  showed  her  the  portrait,  and 
was  disappointed  to  have  her  barely  glance  up  at 
it,  murmuring,  "  Yes,  she  is  lovely,"  in  an  absent- 
minded  way,  and  then  hurry  to  the  window,  ex 
claiming,  "  Oh,  there  he  is.  I  can  see  him  just 
coming  in  at  the  gate." 

Lloyd's  glance  followed  Ida's,  and,  stepping 
back  from  the  window,  she  began  hastily  drawing 
the  cover  over  the  harp. 

"  Oh,  don't  put  it  on  yet,"  said  Ida.  l  I  want 
to  show  it  to  him."  Lloyd  hesitated  an  instant, 
then  stammered  confusedly,  "  But  —  but  —  oh,  Ida, 
I'm  so  sorry,  but  don't  you  see,  I  can't  ask  him 
into  the  house." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  cried  Ida.  "  You  promised  on  the 
way  up  here  you'd  do  anything  you  could  for  me." 

Tears  of  distress  gathered  in  the  Little  Colonel's 
eyes.  It  was  impossible  to  answer  Ida's  question 
without  wounding  her  deeply,  for  it  was  in  this 
very  room  she  had  heard  her  grandfather  say :  "  It's 
a  pity  Cy  Bannon's  youngest  boy  is  such  a  profligate. 
Why,  sir,  he  isn't  worth  the  powder  and  shot  that 


2O6      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

would  put  an  end  to  his  worthless  existence.  I 
wouldn't  let  him  darken  my  doors,  sir ! "  And  it 
was  in  this  room  also  that  she  had  heard  her  father 
say :  "  No,  Elizabeth^  for  the  judge's  sake  I'd  like 
to  show  Ned  some  attention,  and  some  families 
do  receive  him.  But  his  unprincipled  conduct  bars 
him  out  here.  He's  a  fellow  whom  I  never  could 
permit  Lloyd  to  know." 

Ida  repeated  her  question.  "  Oh,  Violet,"  cried 
Lloyd,  "  it's  just  breaking  my  heart  to  refuse  you, 
but  I  can't  let  him  come  in.  It  isn't  my  house,  and 
I've  no  right  to  when  grandfathah  and  Papa  Jack 
have  both  forbidden  it.  But  it's  warmah  on  the 
poa'ch  than  it  is  in  the  house  with  no  fiah,  and  I'll 
put  some  chairs  out  for  you,  and  wait  for  you  in 
heah." 

"  Won't  you  even  come  out  and  be  introduced  ?  " 

"Oh,  Violet,  don't  ask  me!"  begged  the  Little 
Colonel.  "  I'd  like  to  for  your  sake,  but  I  can't.  I 
simply  can't !  " 

"  Why  not  ?  Are  you  going  to  let  your  father's 
prejudices  stand  in  the  way?  He  doesn't  know 
him  as  I  do.  He's  just  taken  a  dislike  to  him  as 
aunt  has  done  on  account  of  things  he's  heard.  It's 
unfair!  It's  unjust  to  condemn  him  on  account  of 
other  people's  mistaken  opinions  and  prejudices." 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  2O? 

The  Little  Colonel  wavered.  Ida's  absolute  trust 
made  it  seem  possible  that  she  might  be  right,  an€* 
everybody  else  mistaken.  She  peered  out  of  the 
window  again.  He  was  half-way  up  the  avenue 
now,  sauntering  along  at  a  leisurely  gait  with  a 
cigarette  in  his  mouth. 

"  Besides,"  continued  Ida,  "  nobody  need  ever 
know  you  have  met  him.  It's  easy  enough  to  keep 
it  secret,  so  what's  the  difference  — 

She  stopped  in  the  middle  of  her  sentence,  sur 
prised  by  the  change  in  the  Little  Colonel's  manner. 
She  had  drawn  herself  up  haughtily,  and  in  her 
fearless  scorn  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  por 
trait  of  the  soldier-boy  in  gray  in  the  frame  above 
her. 

"  I  hope,"  she  said,  slowly,  "  that  I  have  too 
much  respect  for  the  family  honah  to  do  such  an 
undahhanded  thing  as  that.  Do  you  think  that 
I'd  be  willing  to  be  the  only  one  of  all  the  Lloyds 
who  couldn't  be  trusted?  " 

"  Why,  Princess,  I  don't  see  what's  changed  you 
so  suddenly,"  said  Ida.  "  I  haven't  asked  you  to 
do  anything  more  than  you've  been  doing  all  along, 
by  letting  me  use  your  post-office  box.'* 

"  But  I  nevari  would  have  done  that"  cried  Lloyd, 
*  if  I'd  have  known  who  yoah  Edwardo  was,  and 


2O8      LITTLE  COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

now  I've  found  out  that  it  is  some  one  that  Papa 
Jack  disapproves  of,  of  co'se  I  can't  carry  yoah 
lettahs  any  moah." 

"  Oh,  Princess,  I  thought  you'd  stand  by  me 
against  the  whole  world !  "  sobbed  Ida.  "  I  had 
counted  so  much  —  just  these  few  days  he'll  be 
here  in  the  Valley  —  on  seeing  him  up  here.  I  didn't 
think  you'd  be  unreasonable  and  unjust.  It  seems 
as  if  it  would  break  my  heart  to  have  my  only 
friend  fail  me  now." 

The  tears  were  streaming  down  Lloyd's  face,  too, 
but  she  clenched  her  hands  and  shook  her  head 
stubbornly.  "  No,  tell  him  he  can't  come  heah 
again,  and  that  he  mustn't  send  any  moah  lettahs 
to  my  address." 

Without  another  word  Ida  turned  and  walked  out 
to  the  porch,  where  she  stood  waiting  behind  the 
bare  vines  that  twined  the  pillars  for  Edwardo  to 
come  to  her.  All  the  pretty  colour  had  died  out 
of  her  face,  and  Lloyd  felt  in  a  sudden  spasm  of 
remorse  that  she  was  responsible  for  the  tears  in 
the  beautiful  eyes  and  the  look  of  trouble  on  the 
face  that  only  a  little  while  before  had  been  aglow 
with  happiness.  The  odour  of  a  cigarette  floated 
in  through  the  hall.  Then  Ida  closed  the  door,  and 
the  two  sat  down  on  the  step  outside. 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S  CLOTHING  2OQ 

Lloyd  paced  up  and  down  the  long  room  with 
her  hands  behind  her  back.  There  was  an  ache  in 
her  throat.  She  was  so  miserably  disappointed  in 
Edwardo,  so  miserably  sorry  for  Ida.  More  than 
all,  she  was  miserably  sorry  for  herself;  for  the 
friendship  which  she  had  counted  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  things  of  her  life  lay  in  ruins.  For  a 
moment  she  doubted  if  she  had  done  right  to  shirk 
the  obligations  it  had  laid  upon  her,  and  wondered 
if  it  were  not  a  greater  sacrifice  than  her  father 
ought  to  expect  her  to  make  for  him.  The  tempta 
tion  pressed  sorely  upon  her  to  go  to  Ida  and 
tell  her  she  would  stand  by  her  as  she  had  promised, 
and  for  a  few  days  longer,  at  least,  be  the  bearer 
of  their  letters.  She  even  started  toward  the  door; 
but  half-way  across  the  room  some  compelling  force 
drew  her  eyes  toward  the  portrait  of  Amanthis,  and 
she  stood  still,  looking  into  the  depths  of  the  clear, 
true  eyes  which  had  given  counsel  to  more  than  one 
troubled  heart. 

Years  before,  the  old  Colonel,  standing  with  his 
head  bowed  on  the  mantel,  had  murmured,  brokenly, 
"  Oh,  Amanthis,  tell  me  what  to  do !  "  and,  obedient 
to  the  silent  message  of  that  straightforward  gaze, 
had  started  off  through  the  falling  snow  to  be 
reconciled  to  his  only  daughter.  And  now  Lloyd, 


210      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

looking  up  in  the  same  way,  no  longer  had  any 
doubts  about  her  duty. 

"  It  wouldn't  be  right,  would  it !  "  she  murmured. 
"  You  nevah  did  anything  you  had  to  hide.  You 
wouldn't  stoop  to  anything  clandestine."  She 
straightened  herself  up  proudly,  and  wiped  her 
eyes.  "  Neithah  will  I,  no  mattah  what  it  costs 
me  not  to !  "  Then  she  went  on,  brokenly,  as  if 
talking  to  a  living  presence :  "  Oh,  it's  so  pitiful 
for  her  to  be  so  deceived  in  him ;  for  of  co'se  grand- 
fathah  and  Papa  Jack  and  her  aunt  and  everybody 
put  togethah  couldn't  be  mistaken.  And  I  love 
her  so  much;  I  wish  mothah  were  here,  or  Papa 
Jack  —  but  I'll  promise  you,  Grandmothah  Aman- 
this,  I'll  nevah  make  you  ashamed  of  me  again.  I 
wouldn't  have  carried  the  lettahs  if  I  had  known, 
and  you  can  trust  me  always  aftah  this,  for  evah  and 
evah." 

It  seemed  to  Lloyd  that  an  approving  smile  rested 
on  the  girlish  face,  and  a  red  streak  of  light  from 
the  wintry  sunset,  stealing  in  through  the  uncur 
tained  window,  shone  across  the  June  rose  at  her 
throat  till  it  burned  for  the  moment  with  the  live 
red  of  a  living  rose. 

She  slipped  the  cover  on  the  harp  again,  and 
taking  one  more  look  around  the  room  at  every 


A   WOLF  IN  SHEEP'S   CLOTHING  211 

familiar  object  grown  dear  from  years  of  happy 
associations,  she  closed  the  door  softly  and  stole  up 
stairs  to  rejoin  Mom  Beck.  She  felt  as  if  she  had 
been  to  a  funeral  and  had  suddenly  growft  very 
old  and  worldly  wise  —  years  older  and  wiser  than 
when  she  started  blithely  up  to  Locust  an  hour  or 
two  before. 

It  was  late  when  she  and  Mom  Beck  came  down 
stairs  again.  The  sunset  glow  had  almost  faded 
from  the  sky.  They  bolted  the  front  door  and  went 
out  the  back,  Mom  Beck  taking  the  key  again. 

"  Ida  is  waiting  for  me  on  the  front  poa'ch," 
Lloyd  explained.  "  Good-bye,  Mom  Beck.  I'm 
mighty  homesick  to  come  back  to  you  all." 

"  Good-bye,  honey,"  responded  the  faithful  old 
soul.  "  I'm  going  to  bring  you  some  prawlines  in 
the  mawnin'.  Ole  Becky  knows  what'll  cheer  up 
her  baby." 

Lloyd  paused  at  the  corner  of  the  porch.  "  I 
think  we  ought  to  go  now,"  she  called. 

"  In  a  minute,"  answered  Ida.  "  I'll  catch  up 
with  you." 

Lloyd  walked  on  slowly  by  herself,  down  the 
avenue,  through  the  gate,  beside  the  railroad  track. 
She  was  in  sight  of  the  depot  before  Ned  Bannon 


2 1 2      LITTLE   COL  ONEL   A  T  BOARDING  -  SCHOOL 

struck  off  across  a  field  and  Ida  joined  her.  She 
did  not  speak  as  they  hurried  on  toward  the  sem 
inary,  and  Lloyd  felt,  with  a  desolate  sinking  of 
the  heart,  that  the  old  intimacy  could  never  be 
resumed. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

GHOST   OR   GIRL 

ALLISON,  struggling  into  her  jacket  as  she  ran, 
hurried  along  the  path  through  Clovercroft  to  over 
take  Kitty  and  Katie  on  their  way  home  at  noon. 

"  Wait ! '  she  called,  waving  her  gloves  frantically 
to  attract  their  attention  as  they  looked  back  from 
the  woodland  gate. 

"  I  have  some  news  for  you."  She  was  almost 
breathless  when  she  caught  up  with  them. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  this  ?  Ida  and  Lloyd 
have  had  a  falling  out  of  some  kind.  Neither  one 
will  say  what  it's  about,  but  they  don't  have  anything 
more  to  do  with  each  other,  and  Ida  has  resigned 
from  the  Shadow  Club.  She  told  me  just  now  to 
tell  you  all  that  she  couldn't  come  any  more,  and 
that  we  might  as  well  invite  somebody  else  to  join 
in  her  place.  She  didn't  give  any  reason  for  leaving, 
and  you  know  when  she  puts  on  that  dignified, 
grown-up  air  of  hers,  one  doesn't  feel  at  liberty  to 
ask  questions.  I  told  her  I  was  sorry,  and  started 

213 


214      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

to  beg  her  to  change  her  mind,  but  she  wouldn't 
listen;  just  smiled  in  a  mournful  sort  of  way  as 
if  she  had  lost  her  last  friend2  and  hurried  past  me. 

"  I  asked  Betty  if  she  knew  what  was  the  matter, 
and  she  said  it  must  be  a  quarrel  of  some  kind, 
for  Lloyd  was  dreadfully  unhappy.  After  she  came 
back  from  Locust  yesterday  evening  she  threw  her 
self  across  the  bed  and  cried,  and  cried,  and  wouldn't 
tell  what  for.  She  wouldn't  go  down  to  supper, 
either,  and  afterward,  when  Betty  fixed  her  some 
thing  on  the  chafing-dish,  she  barely  tasted  it." 

"  We'll  have  a  gay  old  club  meeting  to-morrow," 
said  Katie,  "  with  Ida  gone  and  Lloyd  in  the  dumps 
and  Betty  unable  to  come,  on  account  of  her  cold  —  " 

"  And  her  head  so  full  of  the  book  she's  writing 
that  she  can't  take  any  interest  in  anything  else," 
interrupted  Kitty.  "It's  too  bad  that  there's  only 
half  a  club  left.  Three  of  us  can't  get  enough 
things  ready  to  have  a  fair  by  Easter." 

"  That  isn't  the  worst  of  it,"  answered  Katie. 
"  The  three  of  us  alone  never  can  get  even  with 
Mittie  Dupong  and  carry  out  our  hoodoo  plot  to 
punish  her,  because  we  are  all  outside  of  the  semi 
nary.  I'm  tired  of  having  the  girls  laugh  when 
ever  they  see  me  eating  an  apple  and  make  remarks 
about  C.  D.." 


GHOST  OR   GIRL  21$ 

"  And  I'm  tired  of  hearing  everlastingly  about 
that  old  valentine!  "  chimed  in  Kitty.  "  If  the  other 
girls  won't  help  us  I  think  we  ought  to  act  on  Ida's 
suggestion  and  take  in  some  new  members  who 
would." 

"  Lucy  Smith  would  be  glad  to  join  in  Ida's 
place,"  said  Allison.  "  She  rooms  across  the  hall 
from  Mittie,  and  she'd  dare  do  anything  that  we 
would  suggest." 

"  And  Retta  Long's  room  is  just  above,  and  she's 
a  good  friend  of  ours,"  added  Kitty.  "  Let's  talk  it 
over  with  Betty  and  Lloyd  as  soon  as  we  get  back 
to  the  seminary  after  dinner,  and  if  they're  willing 
we'll  swear  in  the  new  members  at  recess." 

"All  right,"  assented  Katie.  "I'll  hurry  back 
and  meet  you  here  at  the  depot  as  soon  as  I  get 
through  dinner.  We'll  settle  this  before  night." 

But  much  running  back  and  forth  and  consulting 
and  discussing  was  necessary  before  the  new  addi 
tion  to  the  club  was  in  full  working  order.  Lloyd 
and  Betty  were  willing  to  admit  Retta  and  Lucy, 
but  Retta  and  Lucy  were  not  willing  to  join  unless 
their  roommates  were  included  in  the  invitation ;  and 
their  roommates,  Dora  Deersly  and  Rose  Parker, 
were  not  willing  to  spend  any  time  in  making  fancy 
articles  for  the  fair.  It  was  too  near  the  holidays, 


2l6      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

they  said.  They  needed  all  their  spare  time  for  the 
presents  they  were  trying  to  finish  before  Christmas. 

"  Couldn't  they  be  sort  of  honorary  members, 
and  not  have  to  work?  "  suggested  Kitty.  "  They 
needn't  even  meet  with  us  on  Saturdays,  if  they'll 
help  us  play  ghost  to  scare  Mittie." 

"  Yes,  there  are  some  secret  societies,  like  the 
Masons,  that  have  different  orders,"  Allison  said. 
"Why  couldn't  we  have,  too?  We'll  be  one  kind 
of  shadow,  the  kind  that  casts  the  influence,  and  the 
other  four  can  be  another  kind  and  do  the  mischief. 
We  can  call  ourselves  the  G.  G.'s  for  good  ghosts. 
Betty,  can't  you  fix  up  something  for  the  others  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Betty,  "  if  you'll  give  me  enough 
time." 

She  turned  to  the  little  note-book  she  always  car 
ried,  and  began  looking  over  a  list  of  words  on 
the  last  page.  The  girls  often  laughed  at  Betty's 
devotion  to  the  dictionary.  Frequently  they  found 
her  poring  over  its  pages,  picking  out  new  words 
that  pleased  her  fancy,  as  they  would  pick  out  the 
kernels  of  a  nut,  and  jotting  them  down  for  future 
use. 

"  Here  it  is,"  she  cried,  presently,  "  wraith !  It 
means  spirit  or  apparition.  They  can  be  the  wicked 
wraiths  —  the  W.  W.'s.  No,"  she  added,  as  another 


GHOST  OR   GIRL  21 7 

chosen  word  caught  her  eye.  "  They  can  be  the 
W.  V.'s.  Wraiths  of  Vengeance;  that  sounds  bet 
ter.  That  will  fit  in  with  the  story  of  the  veiled 
lady  who  haunts  the  seminary,  because  it  is  supposed 
she  comes  back  to  try  to  wreak  vengeance  on  the 
people  who  wronged  her.  Allison,  you  tell  little 
Elise  that  story  to-night,  and  let  her  spread  it 
among  the  primary  grades,  and  it'll  be  all  over  the 
school  by  the  time  the  girls  are  ready  to  perform, 
that  the  Wraith  of  Vengeance  has  been  seen  again, 
floating  near  Mittie  Dupong's  door." 

There  was  no  regular  meeting  of  the  Shadow 
Club  that  Saturday.  Mrs.  Walton  had  not  been 
taken  into  the  secret  of  the  Wraiths  of  Vengeance, 
and  when  it  was  explained  to  her  that  Betty  had 
a  cold  and  could  not  come,  and  Lloyd  and  Ida  had 
had  a  misunderstanding  and  were  not  on  good  terms, 
she  was  quite  willing  to  compensate  the  girls  for 
their  disappointment  by  inviting  Lucy  Smith  and 
Retta  Long  to  tea/ 

Some  of  the  neighbours  came  in  to  spend  the 
evening,  so  Allison  and  Kitty  took  their  guests 
up-stairs  to  make  some  experiments  with  a  magic 
lantern  which  had  often  afforded  them  amusement. 
Little  Elise,  who  had  seen  all  the  pictures  many 
times  before,  went  back  to  the  library,  and  Barbry 


21 8      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

soon  finished  her  evening  duties  up-stairs;  so  no 
one  ever  knew  just  what  those  experiments  were. 

Among  the  slides  was  a  picture  of  Lot's  wife; 
a  tall,  white  figure  with  a  half-lifted  veil,  turning 
for  a  backward  look.  The  lurid  flames  of  burning 
Sodom  glowed  in  the  background  the  first  time 
Lucy  and  Retta  saw  it  thrown  upon  the  wall,  but 
the  last  time  it  was  changed  into  a  ghostly  figure 
that  made  those  Wraiths  of  Vengeance  dance  for 
joy.  Allison,  with  a  thick  coat  of  black  paint,  had 
carefully  covered  all  the  background,  blotting  out 
everything  in  the  circle  except  the  figure  itself,  which 
stood  out  with  startling  distinctness.  Then  from 
the  top  of  a  step-ladder  they  practised  throwing  it 
from  the  transom  of  Allison's  room  through  the 
opposite  transom  of  the  room  across  the  hall. 

"  It  will  be  even  easier  than  this  at  the  seminary," 
said  Lucy,  "  for  the  hall  between  Mittie's  room  and 
mine  is  narrower,  and  the  transoms  are  lower.  That 
will  throw  the  figure  directly  above  the  foot  of 
Mittie's  bed.  I  think  it  will  be  all  the  better  that 
we  have  to  throw  it  high,  for  it  will  give  the  float 
ing  effect  the  veiled  lady  is  famous  for,  to  have 
the  head  so  near  the  ceiling.  I'll  have  to  lay  in 
a  stock  of  provisions  so  that  I  need  not  go  down 
to  supper  Monday  night.  Then  while  everybody 


GHOST  OR   GIRL  2IQ 

is  in  the  dining-room  I'll  hide  the  step-ladder  under 
my  bed,  and  experiment  with  the  lantern  from  my 
transom  to  get  exactly  the  right  position." 

"  What  if  Mittie  shouldn't  wake  up  when  you 
flash  it  in  ?  "  suggested  Allison. 

Retta  was  equal  to  providing  for  such  an  emer 
gency.  "  I'll  set  my  watch  with  Lucy's,"  she  said, 
"  and  at  exactly  the  moment  we  agree  upon,  I'll  tap 
on  Mittie's  window  just  below  mine  with  a  bottle 
let  down  on  a  string.  I'll  give  three  sepulchral 
knocks,  then  wait  a  minute  and  give  three  more. 
I  should  think  that  an  empty  bottle  knocking  against 
the  glass  would  give  a  hollow  sort  of  sound.  That's 
the  window  we  always  keep  open  at  night." 

"  When  it's  time  for  Barbry  to  take  you  home," 
said  Allison,  "  we'll  go,  too,  and  help  carry  the 
lantern.  Now  this  is  a  case  of  ooir  shadow-selves 
being  where  we  can  not.  We  can't  do  the  actual 
scaring,  but  it's  our  lantern  that's  going  to  cast 
the  shadow  that  will  make  Mittie  Dupong  afraid 
to  listen  again  as  long  as  she  lives." 

It  took  considerable  self-denial  on  Lucy's  part 
to  forego  supper  when  the  time  came  to  carry  out 
the  plan,  but  the  spirit  of  mischief  was  stronger 
than  her  appetite.  She  was  rewarded  by  finding  the 
daintiest  of  luncheons  in  the  box  Allison  left  upon 


220      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

her  table,  and  as  she  sat  down  to  enjoy  it  after 
bringing  in  the  step-ladder  from  the  chambermaid's 
supply-closet  and  making  her  experiments,  she 
thought  the  Order  of  Wraiths  was  a  most  excellent 
thing  to  which  to  belong. 

Although  midnight  is  the  prescribed  time  for  all 
ghostly  visitants,  these  wraiths  had  arranged  for 
a  much  earlier  appearing.  It  would  cost  too  great 
an  effort  to  keep  awake  until  that  witching  hour. 
It  was  not  more  than  half -past  ten,  although  the  sem 
inary  had  been  in  darkness  and  silence  for  an  hour, 
when  Retta  leaned  out  of  her  window,  dangling  an 
empty  shoe-polish  bottle  on  the  end  of  a  long  string. 
It  swung  against  Mittie's  window  just  below  with 
three  hollow  knocks.  Ten  seconds  after  by  Lucy's 
watch  the  knocking  was  repeated.  She  could  not 
hear  it  from  her  room,  but  her  faith  in  Retta's 
punctuality  in  carrying  out  her  part  of  the  pro 
gramme  made  her  send  a  dazzling  circle  of  light 
from  the  lantern  she  was  manipulating,  to  rest  on 
the  wall  above  the  foot  of  Mittie's  bed. 

Mittie  sat  up  in  bed,  too  startled  to  utter  a 
sound.  The  light  instantly  disappeared  and  a  white- 
veiled  figure  took  its  place.  To  her  horror  she 
could  distinctly  see  the  dark  wall-paper  through  its 


GHOST  OR    GIRL  221 

ghostly  outlines.  She  buried  her  face  in  the  bed 
clothes  with  a  moan  of  terror. 

"What's  the  matter,  Mittie?"  asked  her  room 
mate,  from  the  opposite  bed,  who  had  been  aroused 
by  the  knocking  and  the  light,  but  had  not  opened 
her  eyes  until  she  heard  the  moan.  The  sound 
of  a  human  voice  gave  Mittie  courage  to  look  out 
again.  The  apparition  was  gone. 

"  Oh,"  she  quavered,  "  I  must  have  been  dream 
ing.  I  thought  there  was  a  knocking  at  the  win 
dow,  then  there  was  a  blinding  light,  and  the  next 
instant  the  veiled  lady  seemed  to  float  across  the 
room  at  the  foot  of  my  bed.  I  never  was  so  fright 
ened  in  my  life.  My  tongue  is  stiff  yet,  and  I  am 
all  in  a  shiver.  Oh,  it  was  awful !  " 

"  It  must  have  been  the  potato  salad  you  ate  for 
supper,"  answered  Sara,  drowsily ;  but  as  she  spoke 
the  three  slow  knocks  sounded  again  at  the  window, 
and  she  raised  herself  on  her  elbow  to  listen. 

"  Oo-oo-oh !  There  it  is  again !  "  wailed  Mittie, 
burrowing  under  the  bedclothes  again.  The  hair 
fairly  rose  on  Sara's  head  as  the  outlines  of  a 
veiled  figure  appeared  above  the  foot  of  Mittie's 
bed,  floating  hesitatingly  a  little  space,  and  then 
vanished.  In  a  flash  Sara  had  disappeared  from 
view  also,  and  lay  almost  smothered  under  the 


222      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

blankets,  so  rigid  with  fear  that  she  dared  not  move 
a  muscle.  She  held  herself  motionless  until  she 
began  to  ache.  It  seemed  hours  before  either  one 
dared  look  out  again2  although  it  was  barely  five 
minutes. 

"  It  was  the  hoodoo  beginning  to  work,"  gasped 
Sara,  in  a  hoarse  whisper.  "  Oh,  if  I  ever  live 
through  this  night  I  tell  you  I'll  get  out  of  this 
room  in  the  morning,  Mittie  Dupong.  I'll  never 
spend  another  night  with  a  girl  that's  marked  for 
the  haunts  to  follow." 

It  was  hours  before  they  fell  asleep,  for  they  kept 
opening  their  eyes  to  assure  themselves  that  the 
apparition  had  not  reappeared.  Even  in  broad  day 
light  the  memory  of  their  fright  was  not  a  pleasant 
thing  to  think  about.  It  required  all  the  persuasion 
that  Mittie  could  bring  to  bear,  and  the  gift  of  a 
coral  fan-chain  to  prevail  upon  Sara  not  to  go  to 
the  teachers  with  the  matter.  She  finally  consented 
to  room  with  Mittie  one  more  night,  but  announced 
in  case  the  ghost  came  back  she'd  certainly  alarm  the 
seminary. 

"  But  if  the  teachers  found  out  that  I  really 
was  marked  that  way,"  sobbed  Mittie,  "  they'd  go 
to  investigating,  and  find  out  about  my  eavesdrop- 


GHOST  OR   GIRL  223 

ping,  and  they  wouldn't  let  me  stay  in  the  school, 
if  the  spirits  made  such  a  disturbance  about  it." 

Sara  promised  secrecy,  but  while  no  hint  of  the 
appearance  reached  the  faculty,  every  girl  in  the 
seminary  heard  of  it  before  night.  Nothing  was 
talked  of  but  table-tippings  and  spirit-rapping  and 
"  appearances."  No  ghostly  visitant  disturbed 
Mittie's  and  Sara's  slumbers  the  second  night.  The 
Shadow  Club,  in  secret  session,  decided  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  venture  again  so  soon.  But  a  spirit 
of  unrest  seemed  to  pervade  the  whole  seminary. 
Mischievous  girls  knocked  on  the  walls  to  see  their 
roommates  turn  pale.  Cold  hands  reached  suddenly 
out  of  dark  corners  to  clutch  unwary  passers-by,  and 
a  panic  spread  in  a  single  evening  among  the  pupils, 
more  contagious  than  mumps  or  measles.  Every 
one  not  infected  with  the  fear  seemed  infected  with 
a  desire  to  make  some  one  else  afraid. 

Even  gentle  little  Jean  Wilson,  whose  deportment 
was  always  perfect,  and  who  was  too  tender-hearted 
to  watch  a  spider  killed,  so  the  girls  declared,  felt 
moved  to  do  something.  Her  roommate,  Ada  Day, 
loudly  proclaimed  that  she  was  not  afraid  of  spooks, 
and  she  didn't  have  any  patience  with  girls  who  were 
silly  enough  to  believe  such  tales.  Nothing  could 
frighten  her! 


224      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

While  Ada  was  in  the  bath-room  that  evening, 
Jean  emptied  a  tin  box  of  talcum  powder,  slipped 
a  spool  of  thread  inside,  and  drawing  the  end  of 
the  thread  through  one  of  the  holes  in  the  perforated 
lid,  hid  the  box  in  the  springs  of  Ada's  bed.  The 
black  thread  trailing  across  the  carpet  to  Jean's 
pillow  was  not  visible  in  the  dimly  lighted  room 
when  Ada  came  back  and  found  Jean  lying  with  her 
eyes  closed.  She  did  not  turn  up  the  lamp,  but 
began  undressing  as  quietly  as  possible,  and  was 
soon  in  bed  herself.  Both  girls  were  wakeful  that 
night.  Both  heard  the  clock  strike  several  times. 
Ada  tossed  and  turned  whenever  she  roused,  but 
Jean  lay  as  quiet  as  possible,  breathing  regularly^ 
so  that  Ada  thought  she  was  asleep  and  did  not 
venture  to  speak. 

As  the  clock  in  the  lower  hall  stopped  striking 
twelve,  Jean  reached  for  the  thread  fastened  to 
her  pillow  by  a  pin,  and  gave  it  several  quick 
uneven  jerks.  The  spool  rattling  in  the  tin  box 
sounded  like  the  mysterious  rappings  at  which  Ada 
had  turned  up  her  nose.  To  hear  it  thus  in  the  dead 
of  night  was  a  different  matter  to  Ada. 

"  Jean ! "  she  called,  in  a  hoarse  stage-whisper. 
"  Jean !  Did  you  hear  that  ?  What  do  you  suppose 
it  is?" 


GHOST  OR   GIRL  22$ 

Jean  gave  the  thread  another  tweak,  and  then  an 
swered,  in  the  same  loud  whisper,  "  It  sounds  to 
me  as  if  something  was  trying  to  spell  your  name 
by  tapping.  It  comes  from  under  your  bed,  but 
then  of  course  you  don't  believe  in  such  things. 
It  may  be  a  warning." 

"  I  wish  I  dared  put  my  foot  out  of  bed,"  said 
Ada,  her  teeth  chattering.  "  I'd  get  up  and  make 
a  light.  You  do  it,  Jean.  I'd  do  that  much  for 
you  if  the  noise  was  under  your  bed." 

"  Sh !  "  warned  Jean.  "  I  believe  something  is 
really  calling  you.  It's  certainly  spelling  your  name. 
Now  count.  One  knock  —  that  is  A.  One,  two, 
three,  four  —  D.  One  again  —  A.  Yes,  that  spelled 
Ada.  Now  it's  beginning  again.  One,  two,  three, 
four  —  D.  One  —  A."  The  knocks  followed  in 
rapid  succession  until  Ada,  realizing  that  they  were 
going  all  the  way  to  Y,  was  almost  paralyzed  with 
terror. 

"Oh,  Jean!"  she  wailed.  "Stop  it!  Stop  it! 
Get  up  and  make  a  light,  or  call  the  matron,  or 
something!  I  can't  stand  it  a  minute  longer!  I'll 
be  a  gibbering  idiot  if  you  don't  stop  that  awful 
knocking !  '* 

Jean  still  continued  to  jerk  the  thread,  till  she 
heard  Ada  spring  up  desperately  as  if  to  jump  out 


226      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

of  bed.  Then  she  said,  "  Oh,  do  be  still,  Ada  Day. 
It's  nothing  but  a  spool  in  a  tin  box.  See!  I'll 
strike  a  match  and  show  you.  I  was  only  playing 
a  trick  on  you  because  you  boasted  nothing  could 
frighten  you.  Don't  rouse  the  house,  for  mercy's 
sake." 

It  took  much  time  and  much  pleading  on  Jean's 
part  to  convince  Ada  that  there  was  really  no  spirit 
under  her  bed,  and  then  it  took  more  time  and  plead 
ing  to  appease  her  anger.  The  sound  of  voices  and 
the  striking  of  a  match  aroused  the  matron.  She  lay 
for  a  moment,  wondering  what  was  the  matter; 
then,  thinking  that  some  one  might  be  ill  and  in 
need  of  her  services,  she  got  up,  slipped  on  a  warm 
bathrobe  and  her  felt  bedroom  slippers?  and  stepped 
out  into  the  hall  to  investigate. 

All  was  quiet,  but  she  had  a  feeling  that  some 
mischief  was  afloat.  An  inkling  of  the  disturbing 
element  in  the  school  had  reached  her  early  in  the 
day,  and  although  she  had  said  nothing  to  the 
teachers,  she  had  made  a  careful  round  of  inspec 
tion  just  before  going  to  bed.  Some  rumour  of 
the  doings  of  the  Shadow  Club  which  had  come 
to  her  made  her  go  to '  the  west  wing  and  push 
aside  the  portiere  hanging  over  the  door  that  led 
to  the  outside  stairway.  The  bolt  was  in  place, 


GHOST  OR   GIRL  22J 

but  it  slipped  easily  in  its  sheath  as  if  it  had  lately 
been  oiled.  Selecting  a  key  on  the  ring  at  her  belt, 
she  locked  the  door.  "  I'll  risk  a  fire  for  one  night," 
she  thought,  "  but  I  can't  risk  some  other  things." 

Although  the  hall  was  quiet  when  she  stepped 
out  now  in  the  midnight  silence,  some  feeling  that 
all  was  not  right  made  her  slip  on  down  the  front 
stairs.  There  was  no  light,  excepting  a  faint  star 
light,  that  served  to  show  where  the  windows  were. 
As  she  stood  there  listening,  about  to  strike  a  match, 
something  in  white  brushed  down  the  stairs  past 
her.  Half  in  a  spirit  of  mischief,  thinking  to  pay 
the  girl  or  ghost,  whichever  it  was,  back  in  her 
own  coin,  the  matron  threw  her  arms  around  the 
sheeted  figure. 

There  was  a  muffled  scream  of  terror.  But,  hold 
ing  her  captive  fast  with  one  strong  hand,  the 
matron  struck  a  match  with  the  other. 

"  Hush !  "  she  said.  "  There's  no  use  in  dis 
turbing  everybody."  Then  as  the  match  flared  up 
she  saw  that  it  was  no  Wraith  of  Vengeance  she 
held.  The  sheet  fell  to  the  floor,  revealing  Ida 
Shane,  dressed  even  to  hat  and  furs,  and  carrying 
her  leather  travelling-bag". 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE   SHADOW    CLUB   IN   DISGRACE 

"  THE  president  wishes  to  see  the  members  of 
the  Shadow  Club  in  his  office  immediately.  They 
will  please  pass  out  before  we  proceed  with  the 
opening  exercises." 

That  was  the  announcement  Professor  Fowler 
made  in  chapel  next  morning,  and  a  clap  of  thunder 
from  a  clear  sky  could  not  have  been  more  unex 
pected  or  more  startling  in  its  effect.  A  frightened 
silence  pervaded  the  room  so  deep  that  every  girl 
could  hear  her  heart  beat.  A  message  to  Doctor 
Wells's  office  at  that  hour  was  almost  unheard  of. 
He  always  conducted  the  chapel  exercises  himself. 
It  must  be  a  matter  of  grave  importance  indeed  that 
would  cause  his  absence  now,  and  the  sending  of 
such  a  message. 

Lloyd  and  Betty  exchanged  startled  glances,  then 
slowly  rose,  followed  by  Allison  and  Kitty.  Katie 
stood  up  next  and  looked  back  with  a  giggle  at  Lucy. 

Retta,  Rose  and  Dora,  who,  being  only  of  the  Order 

228 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  22$ 

of  W.  V.'s,  hesitated  to  follow.  But  emphatic  beck- 
onings  brought  them  to  their  feet,  and  they  filed  out 
into  the  hall  after  the  other  girls,  their  heads  held 
high,  and  smiling  as  if  indifferent  to  the  whisper 
ings  around  them. 

But  the  instant  the  door  closed  upon  them  and 
they  found  themselves  alone  in  the  hall  outside,  they 
began  demanding  of  each  other  the  reason  for  the 
summons. 

"  You  needn't  ask  me! "  exclaimed  Lucy.  "  We 
didn't  do  a  thing  last  night  on  our  side  of  the 
building.  I've  no  more  idea  than  a  chipmunk  why 
we  were  sent  for." 

"  Nothing  happened  in  our  wing,"  protested 
Betty  and  Lloyd,  in  the  same  breath. 

"  Oh,  girls,  I'm  all  in  a  shake !  "  exclaimed  Retta 
Long,  almost  in  tears.  "  It  frightens  me  nearly  to 
death  to  think  of  being  called  up  before  the  presi 
dent.  Such  a  thing  never  happened  to  me  before, 
nor  to  any  of  our  family." 

"  Oh,  boo !  "  exclaimed  Kitty,  with  a  reassuring 
smile.  "  We  haven't  done  anything  so  killing  bad 
that  we  need  care.  We've  only  had  a  little  fun. 
Come  on!  I'm  not  afraid  of  all  the  king's  horses 
and  all  the  king's  men." 

But  in  spite  of  her  brave  words  she  sat  down 


230      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

as  shyly  as  the  rest  of  them  when  Doctor  Wells, 
tall  and  commanding,  motioned  them  to  seats  in 
front  of  his  desk.  He  looked  so  big  and  dignified, 
standing  before  them  erect  and  silent,  while  he 
waited  for  them  to  be  seated,  that  her  courage  failed 
her.  But  when  he  sat  down  in  his  armchair  and 
looked  gravely  from  one  frightened  face  to  the  other, 
Kitty  saw  a  twinkle  in  the  kind  eyes  behind  the 
spectacles  which  reassured  her. 

"  We  caught  a  ghost  in  the  seminary  last  night, 
young  ladies,"  he  began,  abruptly,  with  a  smile 
twitching  an  instant  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth. 
It  was  only  for  an  instant.  His  face  was  unusually 
grave  as  he  proceeded.  "  It  was  just  in  time  to 
prevent  a  very  serious  occurrence  which  would  have 
been  a  great  calamity  to  the  school.  It  made  a 
partial  confession  which  implicated  some  one  in 
your  club,  and  I  have  sent  for  you  in  order  that 
you  may  clear  yourselves  at  once.  Most  of  your 
mischief  has  been  only  innocent  amusement,  I  know, 
but  I  must  have  a  complete  history  of  the  club, 
from  the  beginning  six  weeks  ago,  up  till  twelve 
o'clock  last  night." 

At  mention  of  a  ghost,  they  looked  at  each  other 
with  startled  faces,  wondering  how  much  he  already 
knew.  Evidently  some  one  outside  of  the  club 


THE  SHA DOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRA CE  2 3  I 

had  been  playing  their  own  game,  and  they  won 
dered  who  could  have  made  a  confession  which 
could  truthfully  have  included  them.  Instinctively 
they  turned  to  Betty  to  be  their  spokesman.  With 
her  truthful  brown  eyes  looking  straight  into  the 
doctor's,  Betty  clasped  her  hands  in  her  lap  and 
gave  a  simple  account  of  the  club. 

She  began  with  the  verse  Miss  Edith  had  written 
in  their  albums,  and  the  story  she  had  told  them 
of  the  girls  who  walked  forty  miles  to  the  mountain 
school.  She  told  of  the  impulse  it  had  awakened 
in  them  to  do  something  for  the  mountain  people, 
and  the  club  that  had  grown  out  of  that  desire. 

"  We  didn't  intend  to  play  any  pranks  in  the 
beginning,'1  she  said;  "all  we  wanted  to  do  was 
to  cast  our  shadow-selves  where  we  could  never 
be.  But  just  after  Hallowe'en  we  met  in  our  room 
one  Saturday  afternoon,  and  a  girl  hid  in  the  closet 
next  to  ours  and  heard  all  our  secrets  and  went 
and  told  them,  and  we  decided  to  shadow  her  awhile, 
to  punish  her  for  being  so  mean.  But  one-half 
of  the  club  lived  outside  the  seminary,  and  Ida 
Shane  resigned  about  that  time,  so  we  established 
a  new  order,  and  took  these  four  girls  in  as  Wraiths 
of  Vengeance."  She  nodded  toward  the  new  mem 
bers. 


LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING- SCHOOL 

A  grim  smile  flitted  across  the  doctor's  face  as 
he  listened  to  her  explanation  of  their  duties,  and 
heard  the  use  they  had  made  of  Lot's  wife  and  the 
magic  lantern.  But  he  smoothed  his  white  mous 
tache  to  cover  his  amusement,  and  when  she  fin 
ished  he  sat  in  deep  thought  a  moment,  his  brows 
drawn  closely  together. 

"  If  there  was  any  ghost  around  last  night, 
we  weren't  responsible  for  its  doings/'  she  added. 
"  It  didn't  belong  to  the  club." 

"  Why  did  Ida  Shane  resign  ?  "  he  asked,  sud 
denly. 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  answered  Betty.  "  She 
wouldn't  tell." 

"  There  must  have  been  a  reason,"  he  continued, 
sternly.  "  Do  you  know,  Kitty  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"Do  you,  Katie?" 

"  No,  sir." 

The  same  question  and  the  same  answer  passed 
down  the  line  until  it  came  to  Lloyd.  She  blushed 
a  vivid  scarlet  and  hesitated.  • 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  she  exclaimed.  "  But  I  am 
not  at  liberty  to  tell." 

The  president  held  out  part  of  a  torn  envelope, 
on  which  was  written  with  many  flourishes  in  a 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB   IN  DISGRACE  233 

bold,  masculine  hand,  "  Lloiydsboro  Seminary. 
Kindness  of  bearer." 

"  Have  any  of  you  seen  this  handwriting  be 
fore?  "  he  asked. 

The  envelope  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  each 
girl  shaking  her  head  in  denial,  until  it  came  to 
Lloyd.  With  a  sick  sinking  of  heart  she  recognized 
the  familiar  penmanship  that  had  been  such  a  bug 
bear,  and  which  she  had  hoped  never  to  see  again. 
All  the  colour  faded  from  her  face  as  she  faintly 
acknowledged  that  it  was  familiar. 

"  That  is  all,"  he  said,  carelessly  tossing  the 
paper  back  on  the  desk.  "  I  am  glad  to  find  that 
the  club,  as  a  club,  is  in  no  way  accountable  for 
the  affair  that  I  mentioned.  I  shall  have  to  forbid 
any  more  games  of  ghostj  however,  and  must  ask 
the  owners  of  the  magic  lantern  to  take  their  prop 
erty  home." 

He  kept  them  a  moment  longer,  with  a  few 
earnest  words  which  they  never  could  forget,  they 
were  so  fatherly,  so  helpful,  and  inspiring.  They 
went  away  with  a  higher  value  of  the  motive  of 
their  little  club  and  its  power  to  influence  others; 
and  an  earnest  purpose  to  measure  up  to  the  high 
standard  he  set  for  them,  made  them  quiet  and 
thoughtful  all  that  morning. 


234      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  Just  a  moment,  please,  Lloyd,"  he  said,  as 
she  was  about  to  pass  out  with  the  others.  "  There's 
another  matter  about  which  I  wish  to  speak  to 
you." 

She  dropped  into  her  seat  again.  When  the 
last  girl  had  passed  outj  closing  the  door  behind 
her,  he  picked  up  the  scrap  of  envelope  again,  say 
ing,  "  I  must  ask  you  one  more  question,  Lloyd. 
Where  have  you  seen  this  handwriting  before?  " 

She  looked  up  at  him  imploringly.  "  Oh,  please, 
Doctah  Wells,"  she  begged,  "don't  ask  me!  I'm 
not  at  liberty  to  tell  that,  eithah.  I  promised  that 
I  wouldn't,  on  my  honah,  you  know." 

"  But  it  is  imperative  that  I  should  know,"  he 
answered,  sternly.  "  You  are  here  in  my  charge, 
and  I  have  the  right  to  demand  an  answer." 

"  I  am  in  honah  bound  not  to  tell,"  she  repeated, 
a  trifle  defiantly,  although  her  lips  quivered.  "  It 
would  get  some  one  else  into  trouble,  and  I  have 
to  refuse,  even  if  you  expel  me  for  it." 

The  doctor  and  the  old  Colonel  had  been  friends 
since  their  youth,  and  he  recognized  the  "  Lloyd 
stubbornness  "  now  in  the  firmly  set  mouth  and 
the  poise  of  the  head. 

"  My  dear  child,"  he  said,  kindly,  seeing  a  tear 
begin  to  steal  from  under  her  long  lashes.  "  It 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  2$$ 

is  for  your  own  sake,  in  the  absence  of  your  parents, 
and  for  the  sake  of  the  school's  reputation,  that 
I  am  obliged  to  make  these  inquiries.  The  some 
body  whom  you  are  trying  to  shield  is  already  in 
trouble,  and  your  telling  or  not  telling  can  make 
no  difference  now." 

Lloyd  looked  up  in  alarm. 

"  Yes,  it  was  Ida  Shane  whom  the  matron  dis 
covered  trying  to  steal  out  of  the  seminary  last 
night.  Ned  Bannon  was  waiting  outside  to  take 
her  on  the  fast  express  to  Cincinnati.  They  were 
to  have  been  married  there  this  morning  at  his 
cousin's  had  they  not  been  interrupted  in  their 
plans." 

Lloyd  gave  a  gasp,  and  the  tree  outside  the  win 
dow  seemed  to  be  going  round  and  round. 

"  We  have  telegraphed  for  her  aunt.  She  will 
be  here  this  afternoon  to  take  her  home,  and  the 
affair  will  be  ended  as  far  as  the  seminary  is  con 
cerned.  Now  what  I  must  know,  is  just  what 
connection  have  you  had  with  it.  Ida  confessed 
that  a  member  of  the  Shadow  Club  had  helped  her 
carry  on  a  clandestine  correspondence  for  awhile, 
but  for  some  reason  suddenly  refused  to  be  the  bearer 
of  their  letters  any  longer.  It  was  for  that  reason, 
she  said,  feeling  that  her  only  friend  had  failed 


236      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

her,  that  she  consented  to  the  elopement,  which 
happily  has  been  prevented." 

"Oh,  Doctah  Wells!  Do  you  think  I  am  to 
blame  for  it  ?  "  cried  Lloyd,  wishing  that  the  ground 
would  open  and  swallow  her  if  he  should  say  yes. 

"  It  was  so  hard  to  know  what  to  do!  It  neahly 
broke  my  heart  to  refuse  her,  but  —  it  was  this 
way." 

With  the  tears  running  down  her  face  she  poured 
out  the  whole  story,  from  the  beginning  of  her 
devotion  to  Ida,  to  the  day  when,  under  her  grand 
mother's  portrait  she  fought  the  battle  between  her 
love  for  her  friend  and  loyalty  to  the  family  honour. 

"  There  wasn't  anybody  to  tell  me/'  she  sobbed 
at  the  last.  "  And  if  I  was  wrong  and  am  to  blame 
for  Ida's  running  away,  nobody  will  evah  trust 
me  again ! " 

A  very  tender  smile  flashed  across  the  doctor's 
stern  face  and  the  eyes  gleamed  through  the  spec 
tacles  with  a  kinder  light  than  she  had  ever  seen 
in  them,  as  he  leaned  forward  to  say : 

"  I  have  known  George  Lloyd  many,  many  years, 
my  child,  and  I  want  to  say  that  he  has  never  had 
more  reason  to  be  proud  of  anything  in  his  life 
than  that  his  little  granddaughter,  under  such  a  test, 
recognized  the  right  and  stood  true  to  the  traditions 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE 

of  an  old  and  honourable  family  when  it  cost  her  a 
friendship  that  sne  held  very  dear.  Just  now  Ida 
feels  that  she  has  been  cruelly  used,  and  that  her 
happiness  is  wrecked  for  life;  but  in  time  she  will 
see  differently.  Poor  mistaken  child!  I  talked 
with  her  this  morning.  Ned  is  only  a  selfish,  over 
grown  boy,  with  many  bad  habits,  and  like  many 
another  of  his  kind  knows  that  the  plea  that  she 
is  reforming  him  is  the  strongest  argument  he  can 
use  in  influencing  her.  He  tells  her  she  is  doing 
that,  but  to  my  certain  knowledge  he  has  not  given 
up  a  single  vice  since  he  has  known  her.  She  thinks 
that  it  is  her  duty  to  cling  to  him.  I  admire  her 
devotion  in  one  way,  but  it  makes  her  blind  to 
every  other  duty.  She  is  too  infatuated  to  be  able 
to  judge  between  the  right  and  wrong,  and  at  pres 
ent  feels  bitter  toward  the  whole  world. 

"  But  by  and  by,  when  she  grows  wiser  and 
learns  that  the  judgment  of  a  sixteen-year-old  girl 
in  such  matters  cannot  safely  be  trusted,  she  will 
be  glad  that  you  helped  bring  the  affair  to  a  crisis. 
When  she  has  outgrown  her  infatuation  she  will 
see  that  you  have  done  her  a  kindness  instead  of 
a  wrong,  and  she  will  thank  you  deeply." 

Lloyd  had  not  felt  so  light-hearted  for  days,  as 
when  she  left  the  president's  office,  both  on  her 


238      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

own  account  and  Ida's.  When  she  went  into  the 
class-room  it  was  with  such  a  bright  face  that  every 
one  felt  the  message  to  the  Shadow  Club  must 
have  been  some  mark  of  especial  honour. 

When  Doctor  Wells  thought  the  affair  ended  as 
far  as  the  seminary  was  concerned,  he  had  not 
taken  the  newspapers  into  account. 

No  one  could  guess  where  they  got  their  infor 
mation.  Friday  morning  a  Louisville  paper  came 
out  to  the  Valley  with  startling  headlines :  "  Pretty 
Schoolgirl  at  Lloydsboro  Valley  Attempts  to  Elope 
with  Son  of  Prominent  Judge!  Granddaughter  of 
Well-Known  Kentucky  Colonel  Plays  Important 
Part!  Shadow  Club  in  Disgrace!  Ghosts  and 
Lovers  vs.  Good  Behaviour  and  Learning!" 

No  names  were  mentioned,  but  the  badly  garbled 
account  made  a  buzz  of  wonder  and  criticism  in 
the  Valley.  Doctor  Wells  came  into  chapel  looking 
worried  and  haggard.  He  simply  stated  the  facts 
of  the  case  and  held  up  the  paper  with  the  false 
account,  speaking  of  the  effect  such  a  report  would 
have  on  the  school. 

"  It  puts  us  in  a  bad  light,"  he  said.  "  The  public 
will  say  we  should  have  been  more  watchful.  This 
will  be  copied  all  over  the  State  before  the  week 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  239 

is  out.  One  girl  has  already  been  ordered  home 
by  telegraph  on  account  of  it." 

Lloyd  did  not  see  the  paper  until  noon.  She 
read  it  hastily,  standing  in  the  hall,  and  then  ran 
up  to  her  room  to  throw  herself  across  her  bed  in 
a  violent  spell  of  crying. 

"  Oh,  how  could  they  tell  such  dreadful  stories !  " 
she  sobbed  to  Betty.  "  They  might  as  well  have 
published  my  name  in  big  red  lettahs  as  to  have 
described  Locust  and  grandfathah  so  plainly  that 
every  one  will  know  who  is  meant.  He  and  mothah 
will  be  so  mawtified!  I  nevah  want  to  look  any 
body  in  the  face  again,  aftah  having  such  lies  copied 
all  ovah  the  State  about  me,  as  Doctah  Wells  says 
they  will  be.  I  can't  follow  them  up  and  prove  to 
everybody  that  they  are  not  true,  and  it's  such  an 
awful  disgrace  to  be  talked  about  that  way  in  the 
papahs.  If  grandfathah  or  Papa  Jack  were  home 
I  believe  they'd  shoot  that  horrid  editah !  " 

The  matron  came  in  and  tried  to  comfort  her,  but 
she  would  not  listen.  She  was  in  a  nervous  state 
when  trifles  were  magnified  into  great  troubles,  and 
she  persisted  in  thinking  that  she  was  too  disgraced 
by  the  false  report  to  ever  appear  in  public  again. 
Betty  could  not  coax  her  down  to  dinner,  and  it 


240      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

was  not  long  before  she  had  cried  herself  into  a 
throbbing  headache. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  exhausted 
by  her  crying,  she  fell  into  such  a  sound  sleep  that 
she  did  not  hear  the  girls  go  tramping  out  for  their 
daily  walk.  Betty  stole  in  and  looked  at  her  and 
went  sorrowfully  out  again.  Magnolia  Budine,  pass 
ing  the  door  with  her  carpet-bag  on  the  way  to 
the  old  carryall  waiting  at  the  gate,  stopped  a  mo 
ment  and  listened.  It  was  an  exciting  tale  she  was 
carrying  home  to  Roney  this  Friday  afternoon. 
She  was  glad  the  sobs  had  ceased.  She  had  heard 
them  at  noon,  and  had  gone  around  with  the  cloud 
of  Lloyd's  trouble  resting  on  her  like  a  heavy 
burden. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  Lloyd  awoke.  Some  one 
was  tapping  at  the  door.  Before  she  could  find 
her  voice  to  say  Come  in,  Mrs.  Walton  was  standing 
beside  her.  It  was  as  if  a  burst  of  sunshine  had 
suddenly  brightened  the  dull  November  twilight. 
Lloyd  started  to  scramble  up,  but  Mrs.  Walton 
insisted  on  her  lying  still.  Sitting  down  on  the 
side  of  the  bed,  she  began  stroking  her  hot  forehead 
with  soft,  motherly  touches. 

"  I  had  a  conversation  with  Doctor  Wells  over 
the  telephone  about  that  affair  in  the  paper,"  she 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  24! 

began.  "  He  told  me  what  a  state  you  were  in 
about  it,  so  I  immediately  wrote  to  your  mother 
a  full  explanation  and  sent  it  off  on  the  two  o'clock 
train,  stamped  '  special  delivery.'  She'll  get  it  as 
soon  as  the  paper,  so  put  your  mind  at  rest  on  that 
point.  Now  I've  come  over  to  tell  you  something 
I  found  out  about  you  the  other  day.  You  don't 
even  know  it  yourself.  You'll  be  surprised  and 
glad,  I'm  sure.  It's  quite  a  story,  so  I  shall  have 
to  begin  it  like  one. 

"  One  blustery  day  last  week  an  old  farmer 
stopped  at  Clovercroft  and  asked  to  see  Miss  Kath- 
erine.  It  proved  to  be  Magnolia  Budine's  father. 
He  had  been  there  once  before  with  a  crock  of  apple- 
butter,  which  he  brought  as  a  sort  of  thank-offering 
to  Katherine  because  she  had  made  Magnolia  so 
happy  about  the  costume  and  the  picture  she  took 
of  her  in  it. 

"  Katherine  said  he  would  have  made  a  striking 
picture  himself  as  he  stood  there  with  his  slouched 
hat  pulled  over  his  ears,  a  blue  woollen  muffler 
wound  around  his  neck,  and  an  enormous  bronze 
turkey  gobbler  in  his  arms.  He  wouldn't  go  in 
at  first,  but  finally  stepped  inside  out  of  the  wind, 
still  holding  the  turkey  in  his  arms. 

"  It  seems  that  there  is  a  man  living  on  his 


242      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

place  who  used  to  be  an  old  neighbour  of  the 
Budines  when  they  lived  near  Loretta.  This  man 
has  been  unable  to  work  for  some  time,  and  is 
occupying  the  cabin  free  of  rent.  He  has  a  daugh 
ter  about  sixteen  who  is  very  ill.  She  is  Magnolia's 
best  friend,  and  the  child  was  afraid  that  Roney, 
as  he  called  her,  was  going  to  die.  She  wanted  her 
picture  above  all  things,  and  anything  that  Mag 
nolia  wants  the  old  fellow  evidently  makes  an  effort 
to  get  for  her.  He  seems  completely  wrapped  up  in 
her.  So  there  he  stood  with  his  best  bronze  gobbler 
in  his  arms  and  tears  in  his  eyes,  wanting  to  know 
of  Katherine  if  it  would  be  a  sufficient  inducement 
for  her  to  drive  over  with  him  and  take  the  sick 
girl's  picture. 

"  She  told  him  she  never  took  pictures  for  pay, 
and  said  she  would  be  glad  to  do  it  for  nothing 
if  it  were  not  such  a  bleak  day  that  she  was  afraid 
to  ride  so  far  in  the  cold.  He  was  greatly  distressed 
at  his  failure  to  persuade  her  to  go,  for  he  was 
afraid  that  Roney  might  die  before  the  weather 
changed,  and  then  his  little  girl  would  be  so  grieved 
that  she  would  never  get  over  it.  Katherine  was  so 
touched  by  the  old  fellow's  disappointment  that 
she  relented,  and  told  him  she  would  risk  the 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  243 

cold  if  I  would  be  willing  to  go  with  her.  They 
came  by  for  me,  and  I  went. 

"  Oh,  Lloyd,  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  that 
poor,  bare  room  where  Roney  was  lying.  It  was 
clean,  but  so  pitifully  bare  of  all  that  is  bright  and 
comfortable.  I  looked  around  and  saw  not  a  pic 
ture  except  an  unframed  chromo  tacked  over  the 
mantel,  till  my  eyes  happened  to  rest  on  the  old 
wooden  clock.  There  behind  its  glass  door,  swing 
ing  back  and  forth  on  the  pendulum,  was  your 
picture;  the  Princess  with  the  dove." 

Lloyd  raised  herself  on  one  elbow.  "My  pic- 
tuah !  "  she  cried,  in  astonishment.  "  How  did  it 
get  there?  " 

"  That  is  what  I  couldn't  help  asking  Roney. 
I  wish  you  could  have  seen  her  face  light  up  as 
she  looked  at  it.  '  That's  my  Princess,  Mrs.  Wal 
ton,'  she  said.  '  Magnolia  gave  it  to  me.  You 
don't  know  how  she  has  helped  me  through  the 
long  days  and  nights.  Of  course  I  can't  see  her 
in  the  dark,  but  every  time  the  clock  ticks  I  know 
she  is  swinging  away  there,  saying,  "  For  love  — 
will  find  —  a  way." 

"  I  found  that  Roney's  case  is  one  for  the  King's 
Daughters  to  take  in  hand.  She  has  a  small  annuity 
left  her  by  her  mother's  family;  that  is  all  her 


244      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

father  and  she  have  to  live  on.  That  will  stop  at 
her  death,  and  it  is  her  one  anxiety  that  in  spite 
of  all  her  pain  she  may  hang  on  to  life  in  order 
that  her  father  may  be  provided  for.  The  King's 
Daughters  sent  for  a  specialist  to  come  out  and 
examine  her.  He  says  she  can  be  cured,  so  next 
week  we  are  to  move  her  into  Louisville  to  a  hos 
pital  for  treatment. 

"  You  never  saw  such  a  happy  face  as  hers  when 
we  told  her.  '  Oh,'  she  cried,  '  I  almost  gave  up 
last  week.  The  pain  was  so  terrible.  I  couldn't 
have  borne  it  if  I  hadn't  watched  the  pendulum 
and,  every  time  it  ticked,  said,  "  I'll  stand  it  one 
more  second  for  daddy's  sake,  and  one  more,  and 
one  more;  I'm  spinning  the  golden  thread  like  the 
Princess,  and  love  will  find  a  way  to  help  me  hang 
on  a  little  longer !  " 

"  Sp  you  see,  dear/'  said  Mrs.  Walton,  with  a 
playful  pat  of  the  cheek,  "  your  face  and  Betty's 
song  brought  hope  and  strength  to  a  poor  suffering 
little  soul  of  whom  you  never  heard.  Your  shadow- 
self  reached  a  long,  long  way  when  it  brought 
comfort  to  Roney  and  helped  keep  her  brave.  What 
do  you  care  for  this  trifle  you  are  crying  about? 
The  whole  affair  will  blow  over  and  be  forgotten 
in  a  short  time.  Get  up  and  go  to  counting  the 


THE  SHADOW  CLUB  IN  DISGRACE  245 

pendulum  with  Roney,  and  sing  like  the  real  prin 
cess  you  are.  '  Love  will,  find  a  way '  to  make  us 
forget  the  unpleasant  things  and  remember  only 
the  good." 

Lloyd  sat  up  and  threw  both  her  arms  around 
Mrs.  Walton's  neck.  "  You're  the  real  princess," 
she  said,  softly,  with  a  kiss.  "  For  you  go  about 
doing  good  all  the  time,  like  a  real  king's  daugh- 
tah." 

"  Now  run  along,  little  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Walton, 
gaily,  as  Lloyd  slipped  off  the  bed.  "  Bathe  your 
eyes  and  pack  your  satchel.  I  am  going  to  take 
you  and  Betty  home  with  me  to  stay  until  Monday 
morning." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE   THREE   WEAVERS 

No  better  cure  could  have  been  found  for  Lloyd's 
dejection  than  her  visit  to  The  Beeches.  It  was 
impossible  for  her  to  brood  over  her  troubles  while 
Allison  and  Kitty  were  continually  saying  funny 
things,  and  rushing  her  from  one  interesting  game 
to  another.  After  a  good  night's  sleep  the  events 
of  the  previous  day  seemed  so  far  away  that  what 
she  had  considered  such  a  disgrace  had  somehow  lost 
its  sting,  and  she  wondered  how  she  could  have 
suffered  so  keenly  over  it. 

Katie  Mallard  came  over  soon  after  breakfast, 
and  they  spent  nearly  the  entire  day  outdoors.  The 
air  was  frosty  and  bracing,  and  when  Mrs.  Walton 
saw  them  come  running  into  the  house  just  before 
sundown  with  bright  eyes  and  red  cheeks,  she  felt 
well  pleased  with  the  success  of  her  plan. 

She  was  sitting  in  her  room  by  a  front  window 

writing  letters  when  the  girls  came  rushing  up 

246 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  247 

the  stairs  into  the  adjoining  room.  Kitty  carried 
a  basket  of  apples,  and  Allison  some  pop-corn  and 
the  popper,  and  presently  an  appetizing  odour  began 
to  steal  in  as  the  white  grains  danced  over  the  open 
fire. 

As  the  girls  hovered  hungrily  around,  waiting 
for  the  popping  to  cease,  they  began  a  lively  dis 
cussion  which  caught  Mrs.  Walton's  attention. 
She  paused,  pen  in  hand,  at  the  mention  of  two 
names,  Daisy  Dale  and  the  Heiress  of  Dorn.  They 
were  familiar  names,  for  only  the  day  before  Miss 
Edith  had  showed  her  the  pile  of  books  found  in 
Ida's  closet,  and  she  was  waiting  for  a  suitable  time 
to  speak  of  them  to  the  girls.  As  she  folded  her 
letter  and  addressed  it,  she  decided  she  would  call 
them  in  a  little  later,  when  they  were  through  with 
their  apples  and  their  corn,  for  a  quiet  little  twilight 
talk.  A  golden  afterglow  gleamed  above  the  western 
tree-tops,  and,  leaning  back  in  her  rocking-chair, 
she  sat  watching  it  fade  out,  so  absorbed  in  a  story 
she  was  thinking  to  tell  them  that  she  ceased  to 
hear  the  girlish  chatter  in  the  next  room  till  Lloyd's 
voice  rang  out  clearly : 

"  I've  made  up  my  mind.  I'm  nevah  going  to 
get  married ! " 

"  Then  you'll  be  an  old  maid,"  was  Kitty's  teas- 


248      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

ing  rejoinder,  "  and  people  will  poke  fun  at  you 
and  your  cats  and  teacups." 

"I'll  nor  have  any/'  was  the  prompt  reply.  "  I 
nevah  expect  to  have  any  moah  pets  of  any  kind. 
Whenevah  I  get  to  loving  anything,  something 
always  happens  to  it.  Think  of  all  the  pets  we 
have  had  at  Locust.  Fritz,  and  the  two  Bobs,  and 
Boots,  and  the  gobblah,  and  the  goat,  and  the  par 
rot,  and  deah  old  Hero!  Something  happened  to 
every  one  of  them.  The  ponies  are  the  only  things 
left,  and  the  only  kind  of  a  pet  I'd  evah  have  again. 
If  Tarbaby  should  die,  I'd  buy  me  a  hawse,  for  I 
don't  expect  to  be  the  kind  of  an  old  maid  that 
sits  in  a  chimney-cawnah  with  a  tabby  and  a  tea 
pot.  I  expect  to  dash  around  the  country  on  hawse- 
back  and  have  fun  even  when  I'm  old  and  wrinkled 
and  gray.  I'll  go  to  college,  of  co'se,  and  I'll  have 
interesting  people  to  visit  me,  so  that  I'll  keep  up 
my  interest  in  the  world  and  not  get  cranky." 

"  I'll  come  and  live  with  you,"  said  Allison.  "  I'll 
have  a  studio  and  devote  my  life  to  making  a  great 
artist  of  myself.  We  could  buy  Tanglewood,  and 
make  a  moat  all  around  the  house  so  that  we  could 
pull  up  the  drawbridge  when  we  wanted  to  be  alone 
or  were  afraid  of  burglars." 

"  Maybe  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  be  an  old 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  249 

maid,  too/'  said  Betty,  musingly.  "  I'd  have  more 
time  to  write  books  than  if  I  had  a  husband  and 
a  family  to  look  after.  And,  besides,  while  I  like 
to  read  about  lovers  and  such  things  in  stories,  it 
would  make  me  feel  dreadfully  foolish  to  have  any 
man  fall  on  his  knees  to  me  and  say  the  things 
that  Lord  Rokeby  and  Guy  said  to  Daisy  Dale.  I 
don't  even  like  to  write  those  speeches  when  I'm 
in  a  room  by  myself.  I've  tried  lots  of  times,  and 
I've  about  decided  to  skip  that  part  in  my  story. 
I'll  put  some  stars  instead,  and  begin,  '  A  year  has 
passed,  and  Gladys  and  Eugene,'  etc." 

"  I  was  going  to  ask  mothah  how  Papa  Jack 
did  it,"  said  Lloyd,  "  but  aftah  all  that's  happened, 
somehow  I'd  rathah  not  say  anything  about  such 
things  to  oldah  people.  Miss  McCannister  was 
so  horrified  when  she  found  we  had  talked  such 
*  sentimental  foolishness/  as  she  called  it.  I'll  nevah 
forget  the  way  she  screwed  up  her  lips  and  said, 
'  It  wasn't  considahed  propah,  when  I  was  a  child, 
for  little  girls  to  discuss  such  subjects.'  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  been  caught  doing  something  wicked. 
It  mawtified  me  dreadfully,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  I'd  nevah  get  to  be  fond  of  anybody  the  way 
Ida  was,  for  fear  I  might  be  mistaken  in  them  as 
she  was." 


250      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  Everything  seems  to  be  a  warning  lately,"  said 
Betty.  "  Even  the  literature  lessons  this  week.  If 
the  Lady  of  Shalott  hadn't  left  her  weaving  to  look 
out  of  the  window  when  Sir  Lancelot  rode  by,  the 
curse  wouldn't  have  come  upon  her." 

"  There !  "  cried  Allison,  scrambling  to  her  feet. 
"  That  reminds  me  that  I  haven't  learned  the 
verses  that  Miss  Edith  asked  us  to  memorize  for 
Monday." 

She  took  a  worn  copy  of  Tennyson  from  the  table, 
and  began  rapidly  turning  the  leaves. 

"  I  learned  the  whole  thing  yesterday,"  said  Betty. 
"  I  can  say  every  word  of  part  first." 

"  It's  easy,"  remarked  Kitty.  "  I  know  part  of 
it,  although  I'm  not  in  the  class.  I  learned  it  from 
hearing  Allison  read  it: 

"'Four  gray  walls  and  four  gray  towers 
Overlook  a  space  of  flowers. 
And  the  silent  isle  embowers 
The    Lady    of    Shalott' 

Isn't  that  right?" 

"  Yes,  but  that  isn't  Monday's  lesson.  It's  part 
second  we  have  to  learn." 

"  Let's  all  learn  it,"  proposed  Katie.  "  It's  so 
pretty  and  jingles  along  so  easily  I'd  like  to  know 


THE   THREE    WEAVERS  2$l 

it,  too.  You  line  it  out,  Allison,  as  Frazer  does  the 
hymns  at  the  coloured  baptizings,  and  we'll  run  a 
race  and  see  who  can  repeat  it  first." 

"  There  she  weaves  by  night  and  day/'  read  Alli 
son,  and  then  the  five  voices  gabbled  it  all  together, 
"  There  she  weaves  by  night  and  day." 

The  concert  recitation  went  on  for  some  time,  and 
presently  the  lines  of  the  familiar  old  poem  began 
weaving  themselves  into  the  story  Mrs.  Walton  was 
thinking  about.  The  red  gold  of  the  afterglow  had 
not  entirely  faded  from  the  sky  when  she  left  her 
seat  by  the  window  and  went  into  the  next  room. 
The  five  girls  on  the  hearth-rug  were  still  chanting 
the  lesson  over  and  over. 

"  Come  hear  us  say  it,  mother,"  called  Kitty, 
drawing  up  a  chair  for  her.  "  Betty  learned  it  first." 

Allison  deposited  the  bowl  of  pop-corn  in  her 
lap  and  passed  her  the  basket  of  apples,  and  then 
flourished  the  popper  like  a  drum-major's  baton. 
"  Now  all  together !  "  she  cried,  and  the  five  voices 
rang  out  like  one : 

"There  she  weaves  by  night  and  day 
A  magic  web  with  colours  gay. 
She  has  heard  a  whisper  say 
A  curse  is  on  her  if  she  stay 
To  look  down  to  Camelot. 
She  knows  not  what  the  curse  may  be, 


2$ 2      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

And  so  she   weaveth  steadily, 
And  little  other  care  hath  she. 
The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

"And  moving  through  a  mirror  clear 
That  hangs  before  her  all   the  year, 
Shadows  of  the  world  appear. 
There  she  sees  the  highway  near, 

Winding  down  to  Camelot 
There  the  river  eddy  whirls, 
And  the  surly  village  churls 
And  the  red  cloaks  of  market-girls 
Pass  onward  from  Shalott. 

"  Sometimes  a  troop  of  damsels  glad, 
An  abbot  on  an  ambling  pad, 
Sometimes  a  curly  shepherd  lad 
Or  long-haired  page  in  crimson  clad 

Goes  by  to  Camelot. 

And  sometimes  through  the  mirror  blue 
The  knights  come  riding  two  by  two. 
She  hath  no  loyal  knight  and  true, 

The  Lady  of  Shalott." 

"  Why,  she  was  an  old  maid !  Wasn't  she !  " 
said  Katie,  so  plaintively  as  they  finished  that  they 
all  laughed. 

"  That's  what  Allison  and  Betty  and  Lloyd  are 
going  to  be,  mother,"  said  Kitty,  teasingly.  Lloyd, 
with  a  very  red  face,  hastened  to  change  the  subject. 
She  snuggled  up  against  Mrs.  Walton's  knee,  saying, 
as  she  looked  into  the  glowing  fire,  "  This  is  the 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  2$$ 

best  time  of  the  day,  when  the  wind  goes  '  Whooo ' 
in  the  chimney,  and  it's  cold  and  dark  outdoahs  and 
cheerful  and  bright  inside.  It's  just  the  time  for 
story-telling.  Don't  you  know  one,  Mrs.  Walton?  " 

"  Of  course  she  does,"  Kitty  answered  for  her. 
"  And  if  you  don't  know  one,  you  can  make  one  up 
to  order.  Can't  you,  mamsie?  " 

"  Your  poem  suggested  a  story,"  answered  Mrs. 
Walton?  and  with  one  hand  smoothing  Lloyd's  fair 
head  as  it  rested  against  her  knee,  and  the  other 
stroking  Kitty's  dark  one  in  her  lap,  she  began : 

"  Once  upon  a  time  (the  same  time  that  the 
Lady  of  Shalott  wove  her  magic  web,  and  near 
the  four  gray  towers  from  which  she  watched  the 
road  running  down  to  Camelot),  there  lived  three 
weavers.  Their  houses  stood  side  by  side,  and  such 
had  been  their  equal  fortunes  that  whatever  hap 
pened  under  the  roof  of  one  had  always  happened 
under  the  roofs  of  the  others.  They  wove  the  same 
patterns  in  their  looms,  and  they  received  the  same 
number  of  shillings  for  their  webs.  They  sang 
the  same  songs,  told  the  same  tales,  ate  the  same 
kind  of  broth  from  the  same  kind  of  bowls,  and 
dressed  in  the  same  coarse  goods  of  hodden  gray. 

"  But  they  were  unlike  as  three  weavers  could 
possibly  be.  The  first  insisted  on  weaving  all  his 


254      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

webs  a  certain  length,  regardless  of  the  size  of  the 
man  who  must  wear  the  mantle.  (Each  web  was 
supposed  to  be  just  long  enough  to  make  one  man 
tle.)  The  second  carelessly  wove  his  any  length 
that  happened  to  be  convenient,  and  stretched  or 
cut  it  afterward  to  fit  whomsoever  would  take  it. 
But  the  thirdz  with  great  painstaking  and  care, 
measured  first  the  man  and  then  the  web  by  the 
inches  and  ells  of  his  carefully  notched  yardstick. 

"  Now  to  each  weaver  was  born  a  daughter,  all 
on  the  same  day,  and  they  named  them  Hertha, 
Huberta,  and  Hildegarde.  On  the  night  after  the 
christening,  as  the  three  men  sat  smoking  their  pipes 
on  the  same  stoop,  the  father  of  Hertha  said,  '  Do 
not  think  me  puffed  up  with  unseemly  pride,  good 
neighbours,  but  wonderful  fortune  hath  befallen  me 
and  mine  this  day.  Clotho,  the  good  fairy  of  all 
the  weavers,  was  present  at  my  Hertha's  christen 
ing,  and  left  beside  her  cradle  a  gift:  a  tiny  loom 
that  from  beam  to  shuttle  is  of  purest  gold.  And 
she  whispered  to  me  in  passing,  "  Good  fortune, 
Herthold.  It  is  written  in  the  stars  that  a  royal 
prince  shall  seek  to  wed  thy  child." 

"  But  Herthold's  news  caused  no  astonishment 
to  his  neighbours.  What  had  happened  under  the 
roof  of  one  had  happened  under  the  roofs  of  all, 


THE   THREE    WEAVERS  2$$ 

and  the  same  good  fortune  was  written  in  the  stars 
for  each,  and  the  same  gift  had  been  left  by  each 
child's  cradle.  So  the  three  friends  rejoiced  together, 
and  boasted  jestingly  among  themselves  of  the  three 
kings'  sons  who  should  some  day  sit  down  at  their 
tables. 

"  But  presently  Hildgardmar,  the  father  of  Hilde- 
garde,  said,  '  But  there  may  be  a  slip  twixt  cup  and 
lip.  Mayhap  our  daughters  cannot  fulfil  the  required 
condition.' 

"  At  that  they  looked  grave  for  a  moment,  for 
Clotho  had  added  in  passing,  '  One  thing  is  neces 
sary.  She  must  weave  upon  this  loom  I  leave  a  royal 
mantle  for  the  prince's  wearing.  It  must  be  ample 
and  fair  to  look  upon,  rich  cloth  of  gold,  of  princely 
size  and  texture.  Many  will  come  to  claim  it,  but 
if  it  is  woven  rightly  the  destined  prince  alone  can 
wear  it,  and  him  it  will  fit  in  all  faultlessness,  as 
the  falcon's  feathers  fit  the  falcon.  But  if  it  should 
not  be  ample  and  fine,  meet  for  royal  wearing,  the 
prince  will  not  deign  to  don  it,  and  the  maiden's 
heart  shall  break,  as  broke  the  shattered  mirror  of 
the  Lady  of  Shalott.' 

"  '  Oh,  well,'  said  Herthold,  when  the  three  had 
smoked  in  silence  a  little  space.  '  I'll  guard  against 
that.  I  shall  hide  all  knowledge  of  the  magic  loom 


256      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

from  my  daughter  until  she  be  grown.  Then,  under 
mine  own  eye,  by  mine  own  measurements  that  I 
always  use,  shall  she  weave  the  goodly  garment. 
In  the  meantime  she  shall  learn  all  the  arts  which 
become  a  princess  to  know  —  broidery  and  fair 
needlework,  and  songs  upon  a  lute.  But  of  the 
weaving  she  shall  know  naught  until  she  be  grown. 
That  I  am  determined  upon.  'Tis  sorry  work  her 
childish  hands  would  make  of  it,  if  left  to  throw 
the  shuttle  at  a  maiden's  fickle  fancy.' 

"  But  Hubert  shook  his  head.  '  Why  stew  about 
a  trifle ! '  he  exclaimed.  *  Forsooth,  on  such  a  tiny 
loom  no  web  of  any  kind  can  well  be  woven.  'Tis 
but  a  toy  that  Clotho  left  the  child  to  play  with, 
and  she  shall  weave  her  dreams  and  fancies  on  it 
at  her  own  sweet  will.  I  shall  not  interfere.  What's 
written  in  the  stars  is  written,  and  naught  that  I 
can  do  will  change  it.  Away,  friend  Hildgardmar, 
with  thy  forebodings ! ' 

"  Hildgardmar  said  nothing  in  reply,  but  he 
thought  much.  He  followed  the  example  of  the 
others,  and  early  and  late  might  have  been  heard 
the  pounding  of  the  three  looms,  for  there  was  need 
to  work  harder  than  ever  now,  that  the  little  maidens 
might  have  teachers  for  all  the  arts  becoming  a 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  2$? 

princess  —  broidery  and  fair  needlework  and  songs 
upon  the  lute. 

"  While  the  looms  pounded  in  the  dwellings  the 
little  maidens  grew  apace.  They  played  together 
in  the  same  garden  and  learned  from  the  same 
skilled  teachers  their  daily  lessons,  and  in  their 
fondness  for  each  other  were  as  three  sisters. 

"  One  day  Huberta  said  to  the  others,  '  Come 
with  me  and  I  will  show  you  a  beautiful  toy  that 
Clotho  left  me  at  my  christening.  My  father  says  she 
gave  one  to  each  of  us,  and  that  it  is  written  in  the 
stars  that  we  are  each  to  wed  a  prince  if  we  can 
weave  for  him  an  ample  cloak  of  cloth  of  gold. 
Already  I  have  begun  to  weave  mine." 

"  All  silently,  for  fear  of  watchful  eyes  and  forbid 
ding  voices,  they  stole  into  an  inner  room,  and  she 
showed  them  the  loom  of  gold.  But  now  no  longer 
was  it  the  tiny  toy  that  had  been  left  beside  her 
cradle.  It  had  grown  with  her  growth.  For  every 
inch  that  had  been  added  to  her  stature  an  inch  had 
been  added  to  the  loom's.  The  warp  was  Clotho's 
gift,  all  thread  of  gold,  and  it,  too,  grew  with  the 
maiden's  growth;  but  the  thread  the  shuttle  car 
ried  was  of  her  own  spinning  —  rainbow  hued  and 
rose-coloured,  from  the  airy  dream-fleece  of  her  own 
sweet  fancies. 


258      LITTLE  COLONEL  AT  BOARDING  SCHOOL 

"  '  See,'  she  whispered,  *  I  have  begun  the  mantle 
for  my  prince's  wearing.'  Seizing  the  shuttle  as  she 
had  seen  her  father  do  so  many  times,  she  crossed 
the  golden  warp  with  the  woof-thread  of  a  rosy 
day-dream.  Hertha  and  Hildegarde  looked  on  in 
silent  envy,  not  so  much  for  the  loom  as  for  the 
mirror  which  hung  beside  it,  wherein,  as  in  the  Lady 
of  Shalott's,  moved  the  shadows  of  the  world.  The 
same  pictures  that  flitted  across  hers,  flitted  across 
Huberta's. 

"  '  See ! '  she  cried  again,  pointing  to  the  mirror, 
*  That  curly  shepherd  lad !  Does  he  not  look  like 
a  prince  as  he  strides  by  with  his  head  high,  and 
his  blue  eyes  smiling  upon  all  the  world?  He  car 
ries  his  crook  like  a  royal  sceptre,  forsooth.  Well 
you  may  believe  I  am  always  at  my  mirror  both  at 
sunrise  and  sunset  to  see  him  pass  gaily  by.' 

"  '  Yon  long-haired  page  in  crimson  clad  is  more 
to  my  liking,'  said  Hertha,  timidly.  '  Methinks  he 
has  a  noble  mien,  as  of  one  brought  up  in  palaces. 
I  wonder  why  my  father  has  never  said  aught  to  me 
of  Clotho's  gift.  I,  too,  should  be  at  my  weaving, 
for  I  am  as  old  as  thou,  Huberta.' 

" '  And  I  also,'  added  Hildegarde. 

"  '  Ask  him,'  quoth  Huberta.  '  Mayhap  he  hath 
forgot.' 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS 

"  So  when  Hertha  reached  home,  she  went  to 
her  father  Herthold,  and  said,  timidly,  with  down 
cast  eyes  and  blushes,  '  Father  —  where  is  my  loom, 
like  Huberta's?  I,  too,  would  be  weaving  as  it  is 
written  in  the  stars.' 

"  But  Herthold  glowered  upon  her  grimly.  '  Who 
told  thee  of  aught  that  is  written  in  the  stars  ?  '  he 
demanded,  so  sternly  that  her  heart  quaked  within 
her.  '  Hear  me !  Never  again  must  thou  listen 
to  such  idle  tales.  When  thou  art  a  woman  grown, 
thou  mayst  come  to  me,  and  I  may  talk  to  thee  then 
of  webs  and  weaving,  but  what  hast  thou  to  do 
with  such  things  now  ?  Thou !  a  silly  child !  Bah ! 
I  am  ashamed  that  ever  a  daughter  of  mine  should 
think  such  foolishness ! ' 

"  Hertha,  shamed  and  abashed,  stole  away  to 
weep,  that  she  had  incurred  her  father's  scorn.  But 
next  day,  when  they  played  in  the  garden,  Huberta 
said,  '  Thy  father  is  an  old  tyrant  to  forbid  thee 
the  use  of  Clotho's  gift.  He  cannot  love  thee  as 
mine  does  me,  or  he  would  not  deny  thee  such 
a  pleasure.  Come!  I  will  help  thee  to  find  it.' 

"  So  hand  in  hand  they  stole  into  an  inner  room  by 
a  door  that  Herthold  thought  securely  bolted,  and 
there  stood  a  loom  like  Huberta's,  and  over  it  a  mir 
ror  in  which  the  same  shadows  of  the  world  were 


260      LITTLE  COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

repeated  in  passing.  And  as  Hertha  picked  up 
the  shuttle  to  send  the  thread  of  a  rosy  day-dream 
through  the  warp  of  gold,  the  long-haired  page  in 
crimson  clad  passed  down  the  street  outside,  and 
she  saw  his  image  in  the  mirror. 

"  '  How  like  a  prince  he  bears  himself ! '  she  mur 
mured.  '  My  father  is  indeed  a  tyrant  to  deny 
me  the  pleasure  of  looking  out  upon  the  world 
and  weaving  sweet  fancies  about  it.  Henceforth  I 
shall  not  obey  him,  but  shall  daily  steal  away  in 
here,  to  weave  in  secret  what  he  will  not  allow  me 
to  do  openly.' 

"  At  the  same  time,  Hildegarde  stood  before  her 
father,  saying,  timidly,  *  Is  it  true,  my  father,  what 
Huberta  says  is  written  in  the  stars  ?  To-day  when 
I  saw  Huberta's  loom  I  pushed  back  the  bolt  which 
has  always  barred  the  door  leading  into  an  inner 
room  from  mine,  and  there  I  found  the  loom  of 
gold  and  a  wonderful  mirror.  I  fain  would  use 
them  as  Huberta  does,  but  I  have  come  to  ask  thee 
first,  if  all  be  well.' 

"  A  very  tender  smile  lighted  the  face  of  old 
Hildgardmar.  Taking  the  hand  of  the  little  Hilde 
garde  in  his,  he  led  the  way  into  the  inner  room. 
'  I  have  often  looked  forward  to  this  day,  my  little 
pne,'  he  exclaimed,  '  although  I  did  not  think 


THE   THREE    WEAVERS  261 

thou  wouldst  come  quite  so  soon  with  thy  questions. 
It  is  indeed  true,  what  Huberta  hast  told  thee  is 
written  in  the  stars.  On  the  right  weaving  of  this 
web  depends  the  happiness  of  all  thy  future,  and 
not  only  thine  but  of  those  who  may  come  after 
thee. 

"  *  Tis  a  dangerous  gift  the  good  Clotho  left 
thee,  for  looking  in  that  mirror  thou  wilt  be  tempted 
to  weave  thy  web  to  fit  the  shifting  figures  that 
flit  therein.  But  listen  to  thy  father  who  hath 
never  yet  deceived  thee,  and  who  has  only  thy  good 
at  heart.  Keep  always  by  thy  side  this  sterling  yard 
stick  which  I  give  thee,  for  it  marks  the  inches  and 
the  ells  to  which  the  stature  of  a  prince  must  meas 
ure.  Not  until  the  web  doth  fully  equal  it  can  it 
be  safely  taken  from  the  loom. 

"  '  Thou  art  so  young,  'tis  but  a  little  mantle 
thou  couldst  weave  this  year,  at  best.  Fit  but  to 
clothe  the  shoulders  of  yon  curly  shepherd  lad.'  He 
pointed  to  the  bright  reflection  passing  in  the  mirror. 
'  But  'tis  a  magic  loom  that  lengthens  with  thy 
growth,  and  each  year  shall  the  web  grow  longer, 
until  at  last,  a  woman  grown,  thou  canst  hold  it 
up  against  the  yardstick,  and  find  that  it  doth  meas 
ure  to  the  last  inch  and  ell  the  size  demanded  by 
a  prince's  noble  stature. 


262      LITTLE    COLONEL    AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

"  '  But  thou  wilt  oft  be  dazzled  by  the  mirror's 
sights,  and  youths  will  come  to  thee,  one  by  one, 
each  begging,  "  Give  me  the  royal  mantle,  Hilde- 
garde.  /  am  the  prince  the  stars  have  destined  for 
thee."  And  with  honeyed  words  he'll  show  thee 
how  the  mantle  in  the  loom  is  just  the  length  to 
fit  his  shoulders.  But  let  him  not  persuade  thee  to 
cut  it  loose  and  give  it  him,  as  thy  young  fingers 
will  be  fain  to  do.  Weave  on  another  year,  and 
yet  another,  till  thou,  a  woman  grown,  canst  measure 
out  a  perfect  web,  more  ample  than  these  stripling 
youths  could  carry,  but  which  will  fit  thy  prince  in 
faultlessness,  as  falcon's  feathers  fit  the  falcon.' 

"  Hildegarde,  awed  by  his  solemn  words  of  warn 
ing,  took  the  silver  yardstick  and  hung  it  by  the 
mirror,  and  standing  before  old  Hildgardmar  with 
bowed  head,  said^  '  You  may  trust  me,  father ;  I 
will  not  cut  the  golden  warp  from  out  the  loom 
until  I,  a  woman  grown,  have  woven  such  a  web 
as  thou  thyself  shalt  say  is  worthy  of  a  prince's 
wearing.' 

"  So  Hildgardmar  left  her  with  his  blessing,  and 
went  back  to  his  work.  After  that  the  winter  fol 
lowed  the  autumn  and  the  summer  the  spring  many 
times,  and  the  children  played  in  the  garden  and 
learned  their  lessons  of  broidery  and  fair  needle- 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  26$ 

work  and  songs  upon  the  lute.  And  every  day  each 
stole  away  to  the  inner  room,  and  threw  the  shuttle 
in  and  out  among  the  threads  of  gold. 

"  Hertha  worked  always .  in  secret,  peering  ever 
in  the  mirror,  lest  perchance  the  long-haired  page 
in  crimson  clad  should  slip  by  and  she  not  see  him. 
For  the  sheen  of  his  fair  hair  dazzled  her  to  all 
other  sights,  and  his  face  was  all  she  thought  of 
by  day  and  dreamed  of  by  night,  so  that  she  often 
forgot  to  ply  her  needle  or  ringer  her  lute.  He 
was  only  a  page,  but  she  called  him  prince  in  her 
thoughts  until  she  really  believed  him  one.  When 
she  worked  at  the  web  she  sang  to  herself,  '  It  is 
for  him  —  for  him ! ' 

"  Huberta  laughed  openly  about  her  web,  and 
her  father  often  teased  her  about  the  one  for  whom 
it  was  intended,  saying,  when  the  village  lads  went 
by,  '  Is  that  thy  prince?  '  or,  '  Is  it  for  this  one 
thou  weavest  ? '  But  he  never  went  with  her  into 
that  inner  room,  so  he  never  knew  whether  the 
weaving  was  done  well  or  ill.  And  he  never  knew 
that  she  cut  the  web  of  one  year's  weaving  and 
gave  it  to  the  curly  shepherd  lad.  He  wore  it  with 
jaunty  grace  at  first,  and  Huberta  spent  long  hours 
at  the  mirror,  watching  to  see  him  pass  by  all 
wrapped  within  its  folds.  But  it  grew  tarnished 


264      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

after  awhile  from  his  long  tramps  over  the  dirty 
moors  after  his  flocks,  and  Huberta  saw  other  fig 
ures  in  the  mirror  which  pleased  her  fancy,  and  she 
began  another  web.  And  that  she  gave  to  a  student 
in  cap  and  gown,  and  the  next  to  a  troubadour 
strolling  past  her  window,  and  the  next  to  a  knight 
in  armour  who  rode  by  one  idle  summer  day. 

"  The  years  went  by,  she  scattering  her  favours 
to  whomsoever  called  her  sweetheart  with  vows  of 
devotion,  and  Hertha  faithful  to  the  page  alone. 
Hildegarde  worked  on,  true  to  her  promise.  But 
there  came  a  time  when*  a  face  shone  across  her 
mirror  so  noble  and  fair  that  she  started  back  in 
a  flutter. 

"  '  Oh,  surely  'tis  he/  she  whispered  to  her  father. 
'  His  eyes  are  so  blue  they  fill  all  my  dreams.'  But 
old  Hildgardmar  answered  her,  '  Does  he  measure 
up  to  the  standard  set  by  the  sterling  yardstick  for 
a  full-grown  prince  to  be?  ' 

"  '  No,'  she  answered,  sadly.  '  Only  to  the  meas 
ure  of  an  ordinary  man.  But  see  how  perfectly  the 
mantle  I  have  woven  would  fit  him ! ' 

"  '  Nay,  weave  on,  then,'  he  said,  kindly.  '  Thou 
hast  not  yet  reached  the  best  thou  canst  do.  This 
is  not  the  one  written  for  thee  in  the  stars.' 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  26$ 

"  A  long-  time  after  a  knight  flashed  across  the 
mirror  blue.  A  knight  like  Sir  Lancelot : 

"Hie  broad  clear  brow  in  sunlight  glowed. 
On   burnished    hooves    his    war-horse   trode. 
From   underneath   his    helmet   flowed, 
His  coal-black  curls,  as  on  he  rode 
As  he  rode  down  to  Camelot." 

"  So  noble  he  was  that  she  felt  sure  that  he  was 
the  one  destined  to  wear  her  mantle,  and  she  went 
to  her  father,  saying,  '  He  has  asked  for  the 
robe,  and  measured  by  thy  own  sterling  yardstick, 
it  would  fit  him  in  faultlessness,  as  the  falcon's 
feathers  fit  the  falcon.' 

"  Hildgardmar  laid  the  yardstick  against  the  web. 
'  Nay,'  he  said.  '  This  is  only  the  size  of  a  knight. 
It  lacks  a  handbreadth  yet  of  the  measure  of  a 
prince.' 

"  Hildegarde  hesitated,  half-pouting?  till  he  said, 
beseechingly,  '  I  am  an  old  man,  knowing  far  more 
of  the  world  and  its  ways  than  thou,  my  daughter. 
Have  I  ever  deceived  thee?  Have  I  ever  had  aught 
but  thy  good  at  heart  ?  Have  patience  a  little  longer. 
Another  year  and  thou  wilt  be  able  to  fashion  a 
still  larger  web.' 

"  At  last  it  came  to  pass,  as  it  was  written  in 
the  stars,  a  prince  came  riding  by  to  ask  for  Hertha 


266      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

as  his  bride.  Old  Herthold,  taking  her  by  the 
hand,  said,  '  Now  I  will  lead  thee  into  the  inner 
room  and  teach  thee  how  to  use  the  fairy's  sacred 
gift.  With  me  for  a  teacher,  thou  canst  surely  make 
no  mistake.' 

"  When  they  came  into  the  inner  room  there 
stood  only  the  empty  loom  from  which  the  golden 
warp  had  been  clipped. 

"  '  How  now ! '  he  demanded,  angrily.  Hertha, 
braving  his  ill-humour,  said,  defiantly,  '  Thou  art 
too  late.  Because  I  feared  thy  scorn  of  what  thou 
wast  pleased  to  call  my  childish  foolishness,  I  wove 
in  secret,  and  when  my  prince  came  by,  long  ago 
I  gave  it  him.  He  stands  outside  at  the  casement.' 

"  The  astonished  Herthold,  turning  in  a  rage, 
saw  the  long-haired  page  clad  in  the  mantle  which 
she  had  woven  in  secret.  He  tore  it  angrily  from 
the  youth,  and  demanded  she  should  give  it  to  the 
prince,  who  waited  to  claim  it,  but  the  prince 
would  have  none  of  it.  It  was  of  too  small  a  fashion 
to  fit  his  royal  shoulders,  and  had  been  defiled  by 
the  wearing  of  a  common  page.  So  with  one  look 
of  disdain  he  rode  away. 

"  Stripped  of  the  robe  her  own  fancy  had  woven 
around  him,  the  page  stood  shorn  before  her.  It 
was  as  if  a  veil  had  been  torn  from  her  eyes,  and 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  267 

she  no  longer  saw  him  as  her  fond  dreams  had 
painted  him.  She  saw  him  in  all  his  unworthiness ; 
and  the  cloth  of  gold  which  was  her  maiden-love, 
and  the  rosy  day-dreams  she  had  woven  into 
it  to  make  the  mantle  of  a  high  ideal,  lay  in  tattered 
shreds  at  her  feet.  When  she  looked  from  the  one 
to  the  other  and  saw  the  mistake  she  had  made 
and  the  opportunity  she  had  lost,  she  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands  and  cried  out  to  Herthold,  *  It 
is  thy  fault.  Thou  shouldst  not  have  laughed  my 
childish  questions  to  scorn,  and  driven  me  to  weave 
in  ignorance  and  in  secret.'  But  all  her  upbraiding 
was  too  late.  As  it  was  written  in  the  stars,  her 
heart  broke,  as  broke  the  shattered  mirror  of  the 
Lady  of  Shalott. 

"  That  same  day  came  a  prince  to  Hubert,  asking 
for  his  daughter.  He  called  her  from  the  garden, 
saying,  gaily, '  Bring  forth  the  mantle  now,  Huberta. 
Surely  it  must  be  a  goodly  one  after  all  these  years 
of  weaving  at  thy  own  sweet  will.' 

"  She  brought  it  forth,  but  when  he  saw  it  he 
started  back  aghast  at  its  pigmy  size.  When  he 
demanded  the  reason,  she  confessed  with  tears  that 
she  had  no  more  of  the  golden  warp  that  was 
Clotho's  sacred  gift.  She  had  squandered  that 
maiden-love  in  the  bygone  years  to  make  the  mantles 


268      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

she  had  so  thoughtlessly  bestowed  upon  the  shepherd 
lad  and  the  troubadour,  the  student  and  the  knight. 
This  was  all  she  had  left  to  give. 

"'Well,'  said  her  father,  at  length,  "tis  only 
what  many  another  has  done  in  the  wanton  foolish 
ness  of  youth.  But  perchance  when  the  prince  sees 
how  fair  thou  art,  and  how  sweetly  thou  dost  sing 
to  thy  lute,  he  may  overlook  the  paltriness  of  thy 
offering.  Take  it  to  him.' 

"  When  she  had  laid  it  before  him,  he  cast  only 
one  glance  at  it,  so  small  it  was,  so  meagre  of  gold 
ihread,  so  unmeet  for  a  true  prince's  wearing.  Then 
he  looked  sorrowfully  into  the  depths  of  her  beau 
tiful  eyes  and  turned  away. 

"  The  gaze  burned  into  her  very  soul  and  revealed 
to  her  all  that  she  had  lost  for  evermore.  She  cried 
out  to  her  father  with  pitiful  sobs  that  set  his  heart 
strings  in  a  quiver,  '  It  is  thy  fault !  Why  didst 
thou  not  warn  me  what  a  precious  gift  was  the  gold 
warp  Clotho  gave  me!  Why  didst  thou  say  to  me, 
"  Is  this  the  lad  ?  Is  that  the  lad  ?  "  till  I  looked  only 
at  the  village  churls  and  wove  my  web  to  fit  their 
unworthy  shoulders,  and  forgot  how  high  is  the 
stature  of  a  perfect  prince ! '  Then,  hiding  her  face, 
she  fled  away,  and  as  it  was  written  in  the  stars, 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  269 

her  heart  broke,  as  broke  the  shattered  mirror  of 
the  Lady  of  Shalott. 

"  Then  came  the  prince  to  Hildegarde.  All  blush 
ing  and  aflutter,  she  clipped  the  threads  that  held 
the  golden  web  of  her  maiden-love,  through  which 
ran  all  her  happy  girlish  day-dreams,  and  let  him 
take  it  from  her.  Glancing  shyly  up,  she  saw  that 
it  fitted  him  in  all  faultlessness,  as  the  falcon's 
feathers  fit  the  falcon. 

"  Then  old  Hildgardmar,  stretching  out  his  hands, 
said,  '  Because  even  in  childhood  days  thou  ever 
kept  in  view  the  sterling  yardstick  as  I  bade  thee, 
because  no  single  strand  of  all  the  golden  warp 
that  Clotho  gave  thee  was  squandered  on  another, 
because  thou  waitedst  till  thy  woman's  fingers 
wrought  the  best  that  lay  within  thy  woman's  heart, 
all  happiness  shall  now  be  thine!  Receive  it  as 
thy  perfect  crown ! ' 

"  So  with  her  father's  blessing  light  upon  her, 
she  rode  away  beside  the  prince;  and  ever  after, 
all  her  life  was  crowned  with  happiness  as  it  had 
been  written  for  her  in  the  stars." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence  when  Mrs.  Walton 
ceased  speaking.  The  fire  had  died  down  until  only 
a  fitful  glimmer  lighted  the  thoughtful  faces  of 


2/0      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

the  girls  grouped  around  her  on  the  hearth-rug. 
Then  Kitty  said,  impulsively : 

"  Of  course  Hertha  means  Ida,  and  you  want 
us  all  to  be  Hildegardes,  but  who  is  Huberta  ?  " 

"  Mittie  Dupong,  of  course !  "  answered  Allison. 
"  And  Flynn  Willis  and  Cad  Bailey  and  all  that 
set  we  were  so  disgusted  with  at  Carter  Brown's 
party.  Didn't  you  mean  them,  mother  ?  " 

"  Yes2"  said  Mrs.  Walton,  well  pleased  that  the 
tale  had  been  interpreted  so  quickly.  "  I  must  con 
fess  that  I  told  the  story  solely  for  the  moral  I 
wanted  to  tack  on  to  the  end  of  it.  You  do  not 
know  how  my  heart  has  ached  for  Ida.  Poor 
misguided  child!  From  what  I  have  heard  of  her 
aunt  I  think  she  must  be  like  Hertha's  father,  and 
made  Ida  feel  that  she  had  no  sympathy  with  her 
childish  love-affairs.  Then  Ida  made  the  mistake 
that  Hertha  did,  wove  her  ideals  in  secret,  and  fitted 
them  on  the  first  boy  who  pleased  her  fancy.  Once 
wrapped  in  them  she  was  blind  to  all  his  faults, 
and  could  not  judge  him  as  other  people  did.  She 
made  a  hero  of  him.  I  blame  her  aunt  as  much 
as  I  do  her,  because  she  did  not  teach  her  long  ago, 
as  Hildgardmar  did  his  daughter. 

"  Little  girls  begin  very  early  sometimes  to  dream 
about  that  far-away  land  of  Romance.  The  teasing 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  27 1 

questions  older  people  ask  them  often  set  them 
to  thinking  seriously  of  it.  They  call  their  little 
playmates  their  sweethearts,  and  imagine  the  admira 
tion  and  fondness  they  have  for  them  is  the  love 
that  is  written  in  the  stars.  Nobody  explains  to 
them  that  they  will  outgrow  their  early  ideals  as 
they  do  their  dresses. 

"  I  can  remember  how  my  ideals  used  to  change. 
When  I  was  a  little  girl,  about  as  old  as  Elise,  I 
thought  that  my  Prince  Charming  would  be  like 
the  one  in  the  story  of  the  Sleeping  Beauty.  I 
dreamed  of  sitting  all  day  beside  him  on  a  crystal 
throne,  with  a  crown  on  my  head  and  a  sceptre 
in  my  hand.  But  as  I  grew  older  I  realized  how 
stupid  that  would  be,  and  I  fashioned  him  after 
the  figures  that  flitted  across  my  mirror  in  the  world 
of  books.  He  was  as  handsome  as  a  Greek  god, 
and  the  feats  he  performed  could  have  been  possible 
only  in  the  days  of  the  Round  Table. 

"  Then  I  outgrew  that  ideal.  Others  took  its 
place,  but  when  a  woman  grown,  I  held  up  the 
one  that  was  the  best  my  woman's  heart  could 
fashion,  I  found  that  my  prince  measured  just  to 
the  stature  of  an  honest  man,  simple  and  earnest 
and  true.  That  was  all  —  no  Greek  god,  no  dashing 


272      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

knight,  but  a  strong,  manly  man,  whose  love  was  my 
life's  crown  of  happiness." 

She  glanced  up  at  the  portrait  over  the  mantel, 
and  there  was  an  impressive  pause.  Lloyd  broke 
the  silence  presently,  speaking  very  fast  in  an  em 
barrassed  sort  of  way. 

"  But,  Mrs.  Walton,  don't  you  think  there  was 
some  excuse  for  Ida  besides  her  being  blinded  to 
Mistah  Bannon's  faults?  He  made  her  believe  she 
had  such  a  good  influence  ovah  him  that  she  thought 
it  was  her  duty  to  disobey  her  aunt,  because  it 
was  moah  important  that  he  should  be  reformed 
than  that  she  should  be  obeyed  in  a  mattah  that 
seemed  unreasonable  to  Ida." 

"  Yes,"  was  the  hesitating  answer.  "  But  Ida 
was  largely  influenced  to  take  that  stand  by  the 
books  she  had  been  reading.  That's  another  matter 
I  want  to  speak  about,  since  my  little  girls  have  con 
fessed  to  the  reading  of  '  Daisy  Dale '  and  the 
'  Heiress  of  Dorn.'  While  there  is  nothing  par 
ticularly  objectionable  in  such  books  in  one  way, 
in  another  their  influence  is  of  the  very  worst. 
The  characters  are  either  unreal  or  overdrawn,  or 
they  are  so  interestingly  coloured  that  they  are  like 
the  figures  of  the  shepherd  lad  and  the  long-haired 
page  in  the  mirrors  of  Hertha  and  Huberta.  In 


THE    THREE    WEAVERS  2? 3 

watching  them  a  girl  is  apt  to  weave  her  web 
*  to  fit  their  unworthy  shoulders,  and  forget  how 
high  is  the  stature  of  a  perfect  prince.'  Such  books 
are  poor  yardsticks,  and  give  one  false  ideas  of 
value  and  measurement. 

"  Ned's  plea  is  what  nearly  every  wild  young 
fellow  makes,  and  nine  times  out  of  ten  it  appeals 
to  a  girl  more  than  any  other  argument  he  could 
use.  *  Give  me  the  mantle,  Hildegarde.  It  will  help 
me  to  live  right.'  So  she  takes  him  in  hand  to 
reform  him.  Nothing  could  be  purer  and  higher 
than  the  motives  which  prompt  her  to  sacrifice  every 
thing  to  what  she  considers  her  duty.  I  had  a 
schoolmate  once  who  married  a  bright  young  fellow 
because  he  came  to  her  with  Ned's  plea.  Her  father 
said,  '  Let  him  reform  first.  What  he  will  not  do 
for  a  sweetheart,  he  will  never  do  for  a  wife.'  But 
she  would  not  listen,  and  to-day  she  is  living  in 
abject  poverty  and  cruel  unhappiness.  He  is  rarely 
sober. 

"  In  olden  times  a  man  didn't  come  whining  to  a 
maiden  and  say,  *  I  long  to  be  a  knight,  but  I  am  too 
weak  to  do  battle  unaided.  Be  my  ladye  fair  and 
help  me  win  my  spurs.'  No,  she  would  have  laughed 
him  to  scorn.  He  won  his  spurs  first,  and  only 


274      LITTLE   COLOA'EL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

after  he  had  proved  himself  worthy  and  received 
his  accolade,  did  she  give  him  her  hand. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  girls,  if  you  would  only  do  as 
Hildegarde  did,  ask  first  if  all  be  well  before  you 
clip  the  golden  web  from  the  loom  and  give  it 
to  the  one  who  begs  for  it!  He  is  not  the  one 
written  for  you  in  the  stars  —  he  does  not  measure 
to  the  stature  of  a  true  prince  if  he  comes  with 
such  a  selfish  demand  as  Ned  did." 

"  That  is  a  story  I'll  nevah  forget,"  said  Lloyd, 
soberly.  "  I  think  it  ought  to  be  printed  and  put 
in  the  seminary  library  for  all  the  othah  girls  to 
read." 

"  And  some  of  the  fathers  and  mothers,  too," 
added  Betty.  "  Ida's  aunt  ought  to  have  a  copy." 

"  No,  it  is  too  late,"  remarked  Katie.  "  It's  a 
case  of  what  grandpa  would  call  '  locking  the  stable 
after  the  horse  is  stolen.' ' 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door.  "  Supper  is 
served,"  announced  Barbry's  voice  in  the  hall. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THANKSGIVING   DAY 

ONE  might  have  thought,  watching  the  pillow- 
figh:  which  went  on  that  night  at  bedtime,  that  the 
fairy-tale  had  been  told  too  soon.  The  five  girls, 
romping  and  shrieking  through  halls  and  bedrooms 
as  the  sport  went  on,  fast  and  furious,  seemed  too 
young  for  its  grave  lessons.  But  "  the  thoughts 
of  youth  are  long,  long  thoughts,"  even  when  its 
actions  are  most  childish  and  careless,  and  the  little 
tale  made  a  deeper  impression  than  the  teller  of  it 
realized. 

For  one  thing,  Betty  laid  aside  the  book  she  was 
writing,  although  she  had  secretly  cherished  the 
hope  of  having  the  story  of  Gladys  and  Eugene 
published  sometime  during  the  coming  year. 

"  I  might  be  ashamed  of  it  when  I  am  grown," 
she  explained,  quoting  old  Hildgardmar :  " '  Tis 
but  a  little  mantle  thou  couldst  weave  this  year,  at 
best,  fit  but  to  clothe  the  shoulders  of  yon  curly 
shepherd  lad.'  If  I  am  to  outgrow  my  ideals  as  I 

275 


LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

do  my  dresses,  I  ought  to  wait.  I  want  the  critics 
to  say  of  me  '  Thou  waitedst  till  thy  woman's  fin 
gers  wrought  the- best  that  lay  within  thy  woman's 
heart.'  So  I'll  lay  the  book  aside  for  a  few  years, 
till  I've  learned  more  about  people.  But  I'll  write 
it  some  day." 

It  was  that  same  night,  while  they  were  getting 
ready  for  bed,  that  the  Shadow  Club  was  disbanded. 

"  I  nevah  want  to  heah  that  name  again,"  ex 
claimed  Lloyd,  shaking  out  her  hair  and  beginning 
to  brush  it.  "  It  was  so  disgraced  by  being  dragged 
into  the  newspapahs  with  such  a  lie,  that  it  almost 
makes  me  ill  whenevah  I  think  of  it." 

"  Oh,  you  don't  want  to  give  up  the  work  for 
the  mountain  people,  do  you  ?  "  asked  Allison,  in 
dismay. 

"  No,  but  I'd  like  to  stop  until  aftah  the  holidays. 
We  have  so  much  to  do  getting  ready  for  Christ 
mas.  Besides,  I'd  like  to  be  able  to  tell  the  girls 
that  there  wasn't  such  a  club  any  moah.  The  next 
term  we  could  make  a  fresh  start  with  a  new  name, 
just  the  five  of  us." 

"  Oh,  let's  call  it  '  The  Order  of  Hildegarde! '  " 
cried  Betty,  enthusiastically.  "  And  all  the  time  we 
are  doing  *  broidery  and  fair  needlework '  to  sell 
for  the  mountain  people,  we  can  be  trying  to  weave 


THANKSGIVING  DAV  277 

our  ideals  as  Hildegarde  did,  so  that  we  may  not 
miss  the  happiness  that  is  written  for  us  in  the  stars." 

"  I'd  like  that,"  exclaimed  Allison,  entering  into 
the  new  plan  eagerly.  "  We  could  have  club  colours 
this  time,  gold  and  rose,  the  colour  of  the  warp  and 
woof,  you  know." 

"  Yes,  yes !  That's  it !  "  assented  Kitty,  with 
equal  enthusiasm.  "  Streamers  of  narrow  gold  and 
rose  ribbon,  pinned  by  a  tiny  gilt  star,  to  remind 
us  of  what  is  written  in  the  stars.  Don't  you  think 
that  would  be  lovely,  Katie  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Katie,  "  but  I  think  if  we  want 
to  keep  the  order  a  secret  we  oughtn't  to  wear  such 
a  badge  in  public.  It  would  be  safer  to  keep  them 
in  our  '  inner  rooms.'  But  we  could  use  them  in 
all  sorts  of  ways,  the  ribbons  crossed  on  our  pin 
cushions,  or  streamers  of  them  to  tie  back  our  cur 
tains,  or  broad  bands  on  our  work-baskets  and 
embroidery-bags." 

Lloyd  gave  ready  assent.  "  That  would  suit  me, 
for  my  room  at  home  is  already  furnished  in  rose 
colah.  All  I  would  have  to  do  is  to  add  the  gold 
and  the  sta'hs." 

"  And  mine  is  a  white  and  gold  room,"  said  Betty. 
"  I'll  only  have  to  give  it  a  few  touches  of  rose 
colour." 


278      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

A  few  more  words  settled  the  matter,  as  the  girls 
hovered  around  the  fire  in  their  night-dresses,  and 
then  the  establishment  of  the  new  Order  of  Hilde- 
garde  was  celebrated  by  a  pillow  fight,  the  like  of 
which  for  noise  and  vigour  had  never  before  been 
known  at  The  Beeches. 

In  the  hard  work  that  followed  after  their  return 
to  school,  time  slipped  by  so  fast  that  Thanksgiving 
Day  came  surprisingly  soon.  Nearly  all  the  pupils 
and  teachers  went  home  for  the  short  vacation,  or 
visited  friends  in  Louisville.  Even  the  president 
and  his  wife  went  away.  Only  six  girls  besides 
Lloyd  and  Betty  were  left  to  follow  the  matron  to 
church  on  Thanksgiving  morning. 

It  was  a  lonesome  walk.  A  Sabbath-like  stillness 
pervaded  the  quiet  Valley,  and  the  ringing  of  the 
bell  in  the  ivy-grown  belfry  of  the  little  stone  church, 
and  the  closed  doors  at  the  post-office,  gave  the  girls 
the  feeling  that  Sunday  had  somehow  come  in  the 
middle  of  the  week.  As  they  crossed  the  road 
toward  the  iron  gate  leading  into  the  churchyard, 
Lloyd  looked  up  past  the  manse  toward  The  Beeches, 
hoping  for  a  glimpse  of  the  Walton  girls.  Then 
she  remembered  that  Allison  had  told  her  that  they 
were  all  going  to  town  to  celebrate  the  day  with 
her  Aunt  Elise,  and  the  feeling  of  being  left  out  of 


THANKSGIVING  DAY 

everybody's  good  times  began  to  weigh  heavily 
upon  her. 

No  smoke  was  coming  out  of  any  of  the  chim 
neys,  either  at  The  Beeches  or  Edgewood.  When 
she  thought  of  Locust,  also  cold  and  empty,  with 
no  fire  on  its  hospitable  hearths,  no  feast  on  its 
ample  table,  no  cheer  anywhere  within  its  walls, 
and  her  family  far  away,  a  wave  of  homesickness 
swept  over  her  that  brought  a  mist  over  her  eyes. 
She  could  scarcely  see  as  they  went  up  the  steps. 

Mrs.  Bond,  with  her  usual  dread  of  being  late, 
had  hurried  them  away  from  the  seminary  much 
too  soon.  Not  more  than  half  a  dozen  carriages 
had  driven  into  the  grove  around  the  little  country 
church  when  they  reached  the  door,  and  only  a  few 
people  were  waiting  inside.  As  Lloyd  sat  in  the 
solemn  silence  that  was  broken  only  now  and  then 
by  a  stifled  cough  or  the  rustle  of  a  turning  leaf, 
she  had  hard  work  to  battle  back  the  tears.  But 
with  a  sudden  determination  to  overcome  such  a 
feeling,  she  sat  up  very  straight  in  the  end  of  the 
pew,  and  pressed  her  lips  together  hard. 

"  It's  almost  wicked  of  me,"  she  thought,  "  to 
feel  so  bad  about  the  one  thing  I  can't  have  when 
there  are  a  thousand  other  things  that  ought  to 
make  me  happy.  It's  only  a  pah't  of  my  bo'ding- 


28O   LITTLE  COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

school  experiences,  and  will  be  ovah  in  a  little  while. 
I  don't  suppose  anybody  in  church  has  moah  to  be 
thankful  for  than  I  have." 

She  glanced  furtively  across  the  aisle.  "  I'm 
thankful  that  I'm  not  that  old  Mistah  Saxon  with 
his  wooden  leg,  or  that  poah  little  Mrs.  Crisp  in 
the  cawnah,  with  five  children  to  suppo't,  and  one 
of  them  a  baby  that  has  fits." 

Her  gaze  wandered  down  the  opposite  aisle. 
"  And  I'm  suah  it's  something  to  be  thankful  for 
not  to  have  a  nose  like  Libbie  Simms,  or  such  a 
fussy  old  fathah  as  Sue  Bell  Wade  has  to  put  up 
with.  And  I'm  glad  I  haven't  such  poah  taste  as 
to  make  a  rainbow  out  of  myself,  wearing  so  many 
different  colahs  at  once  as  Miss  McGill  does.  Five 
different  shades  of  red  on  the  same  hat  are  enough 
to  set  one's  teeth  on  edge.  I  believe  I  could  go  on 
all  day,  counting  the  things  I'm  glad  I  haven't  got; 
and  as  for  the  things  I  have  —  "  She  began  check 
ing  them  off  on  her  finger-tips.  There  was  a  hand 
ful  before  she  had  fairly  begun  to  count;  home, 
family,  perfect  health,  the  love  of  many  friends,  the 
opportunities  that  filled  every  day  to  the  brim. 

The  organist  pulled  out  the  stops  and  began  play 
ing  an  old  familiar  chant  as  a  voluntary.  As  the 


THANKSGIVING  DAY  28  I 

full,  sweet  chords  filled  the  church  Lloyd  could 
almost  hear  the  words  rising  with  the  music: 

"  My  cup  runneth  over. 
Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me 
All  the  days  of  my  life." 

As  the  music  swelled  louder,  her  counting  was  in 
terrupted  by  the  opening  of  the  door  and  the  en 
trance  of  several  generations  of  the  Moore  family, 
who  had  come  back  to  Oaklea  for  a  Thanksgiving 
reunion.  It  seemed  good  to  Lloyd  to  see  the  old 
judge's  white  head  gleaming  like  silver  in  its  ac 
customed  pew.  His  benign  face  fairly  radiated 
cheerfulness  and  good-will  as  he  took  his  place 
once  more  among  his  old  neighbours. 

Rob  walked  just  behind  him,  so  tall  and  erect, 
it  seemed  to  Lloyd  that  he  must  have  grown  several 
inches  in  the  three  short  months  since  they  had 
cut  the  last  notches  in  the  measuring-tree.  As  he 
turned  to  throw  his  overcoat  across  the  back  of 
the  seat,  his  quick  glance  spied  Lloyd  and  Betty 
several  pews  in  the  rear,  and  he  flashed  them  a 
smile  of  greeting.  At  the  same  time,  so  quickly 
and  deftly  that  Mrs.  Bond  did  not  see  the  motion, 
he  held  up  a  package  that  he  had  carried  in  under 
his  overcoat,  and  instantly  dropped  it  out  of  sight 


282      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

again  on  the  seat.  Then  he  straightened  himself 
up  beside  his  grandfather,  as  if  he  were  a  model  of 
decorum. 

Lloyd  and  Betty  exchanged  a  meaning  glance 
which  seemed  to  say,  "  That  five-pound  box  of 
Huyler's  best  he  promised  us ;  "  and  Lloyd  found 
herself  wondering  several  times  during  the  long 
service  how  he  would  manage  to  present  it.  That 
problem  did  not  worry  Rob,  however.  As  the  con 
gregation  slowly  moved  down  the  aisles  and  out 
into  the  vestibule,  he  elbowed  his  way  to  Mrs.  Bond, 
standing  beside  her  eight  charges  like  a  motherly 
old  hen. 

"  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Bond,"  he  exclaimed,  in 
his  straightforward,  boyish  way.  "  You're  going 
to  take  me  under  your  wing  and  let  me  walk  to  the 
gate  with  Betty  and  Lloyd,  aren't  you!  I'll  be  as 
good  as  grandfather  if  you  will,  and  I'll  even  take 
him  along  if  it's  necessary  to  have  anybody  to 
vouch  for  me." 

His  mischievous  smile  was  so  irresistible  that  she 
gave  him  a  motherly  pat  on  the  shoulder.  "  Run 
along,"  she  exclaimed,  laughingly.  "  I'll  follow 
presently.  There  are  several  people  I  want  to  speak 
to  first." 

"  Oh,  Rob,"  exclaimed  Lloyd,  as  he  started  down 


IT'S    LIKE    A    BIT   OF    HOME   TO    SEE    YOU    AGAIN.'" 


THANKSGIVING  DAY  283 

the  avenue  beside  her  and  Betty.  "  It's  like  a  bit 
of  home  to  see  you  again.  Talk  fast  and  tell  us 
everything.  Do  you  think  you'll  pass  in  Latin? 
Is  it  decided  whethah  you're  to  go  East  to  school 
aftah  Christmas?  Did  you  see  that  awful  piece 
in  the  papah  about  our  dub?  " 

She  poured  out  her  questions  so  rapidly  that  they 
were  half-way  to  the  seminary  before  he  could 
answer  all  her  catechism,  and  then  he  had  so  many 
to  ask  her  that  she  almost  forgot  to  tell  him  about 
the  box  they  had  received  from  Locust  that  morn 
ing. 

"  A  suah  enough  Thanksgiving-box !  "  she  ex 
claimed  gleefully.  "  Just  as  if  we'd  really  been  away 
off  from  home  at  school,  with  all  the  good  things  that 
Mom  Beck  could  think  of  or  Aunt  Cindy  could  cook, 
from  a  turkey  to  a  monstrous  big  fruit-cake.  Mothah 
planned  the  surprise  before  she  went  away.  Think 
of  the  gay  midnight  suppahs  we  could  have  if  we 
hadn't  turned  ovah  a  new  leaf  and  refawmed." 

"  So  you've  reformed !  "  he  repeated.  "  Then 
boarding-school  life  can't  seem  as  funny  to  you  as 
you  thought  last  September  it  was  going  to  be." 

"  Yes,  it  does,"  protested  Betty.  "  I'll  be  glad 
when  the  next  four  weeks  are  over  so  that  we  can 
go  back  to  Locust,  but  excepting  only  two  or  three 


284      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

things  that  happened,  I've  enjoyed  every  minute  that 
we've  been  at  the  seminary.  I'll  always  be  glad 
that  we  had  this  experience." 

"  And  it  wasn't  at  all  like  you  said  it  would  be," 
added  Lloyd,  laughingly,  "  '  scorched  oatmeal  and 
dried  apples  and  old  cats  watching  at  every  key 
hole,'  There  was  some  eavesdropping,  but  it  wasn't 
the  teachahs  who  did  it,  and  we  had  moah  fun 
getting  even  with  the  girl  who  did  than  I  could 
tell  in  a  week.  I'll  tell  you  about  our  playing  ghost, 
and  all  the  rest,  when  you  come  out  Christmas." 

"  Then  I'll  have  to  hand  over  the  candy,"  he 
said.  "  You've  earned  it,  if  you've  stood  the  strain 
this  long  and  kept  as  hale  and  hearty  as  you  look." 

They  had  reached  the  high  green  picket  gate  by 
this  time,  and,  delivering  the  box  to  the  girls,  with 
a  few  more  words  he  left  them.  Dinner  was  to  be 
early  at  Oaklea,  he  said,  as  they  were  all  going  home 
on  the  five  o'clock  train. 

"  Oh,  it  was  just  like  having  a  piece  of  home  to 
see  him  again,"  exclaimed  Lloyd,  looking  after  him 
wistfully  as  he  lifted  his  cap  and  walked  rapidly 
away.  "  I  can  hardly  wait  to  get  back  now. 
Wouldn't  you  like  to  walk  up  to  Locust  aftah  dinnah, 
Betty?" 

"  No,  I  believe  not,"  was  the  hesitating  reply. 


THANKSGIVING  DAY  285 

"  It  would  make  me  feel  more  homesick  than  if 
I  stayed  away  altogether.  Mom  Beck  will  be  off 
keeping  holiday  somewhere,  and  everything  will 
be  shut  up  and  desolate-looking.  Probably  all  we'd 
see  would  be  Lad  and  Tarbaby  out  in  the  pasture. 
Let's  walk  over  to  Rollington  instead,  after  dinner, 
and  take  a  lot  of  things  to  that  poor  little  Mrs. 
Crisp  out  of  our  box  from  home." 

"  How  funny  for  you  to  think  of  the  same  thing 
that  I  did  this  mawning  in  church !  "  exclaimed 
Lloyd.  "  The  text  made  me  think  of  it,  and  when 
I  looked  across  at  her  in  that  pitiful  old  wispy 
crape  veil,  and  thought  of  the  washing  she  has  to 
do,  and  the  baby  with  the  fits,  I  was  so  thankful 
that  I  was  not  in  her  place  that  I  felt  as  if  I  ought 
to  give  her  every  penny  I  possess." 

It  was  a  very  quiet  day.  A  better  dinner  than 
usual,  and  the  long  walk  over  to  Rollington  late  in 
the  afternoon  was  all  that  made  it  differ  from  the 
Sundays  that  they  had  spent  at  the  seminary.  But 
as  the  two  little  Good  Samaritans  trudged  homeward 
over  the  frozen  pike,  swinging  their  empty  basket 
between  them,  Lloyd  exclaimed,  "  I've  had  a  good 
time  to-day,  aftah  all,  and  I  would  have  been  per 
fectly  misah'ble  if  I'd  gone  on  the  way  I  stah'ted 
out  to  do  —  thinking  about  the  one  thing  I  wanted 


286      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

and  couldn't  have.  I  just  'made  myself  stop,  and 
go  to  thinking  of  the  things  I  did  have2  and  then 
I  forgot  to  feel  homesick.  Counting  yoah  blessings 
and  carrying  turkey  to  poah  folks  doesn't  sound 
like  a  very  exciting  way  to  spend  yoah  holidays, 
but  it  makes  you  feel  mighty  good  inside,  doesn't 
it!  Especially  when  you  think  how  pleased  Mrs. 
Crisp  was." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Betty.  "  I  don't  know  how  to 
express  the  way  the  day  has  made  me  feel.  Not 
happy,  exactly,  for  when  I'm  that  way  I  always 
want  to  sing."  She  held  her  muff  against  her  cold 
face.  "  It's  more  like  a  big,  soft,  furry  kind  of  con 
tentment.  If  I  were  a  cat  I'd  be  purring." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

CHRISTMAS     GREENS     AND     WATCH-NIGHT     EMBERS 

THERE  is  a  chapter  in  Betty's  Good  Times  book 
which  tells  all  about  that  last  day  at  the  seminary, 
before  the  Christmas  vacation ;  of  the  hurried  pack 
ing  and  leave-taking ;  of  her  trip  to  town  with  Lloyd 
to  meet  Papa  Jack  and  come  out  home  with  him  on 
the  five  o'clock  train,  laden  with  Christmas  packages 
like  all  the  other  suburban  passengers;  of  the  car 
riage  waiting  for  them  at  the  depot,  just  as  if  they 
had  been  away  at  some  school  a  long  distance  from 
the  Valley,  and  then  the  crowning  joy  of  seeing 
her  godmother  on  the  platform^  waving  her  hand 
kerchief  as  the  train  stopped  in  front  of  the  depot. 

They  had  not  expected  her  back  from  Hot  Springs 
until  the  next  day,  and  all  the  way  out  on  the  train 
had  been  discussing  the  reception  they  intended  to 
give  her.  There  had  been  a  twinkle  in  Mr.  Sher 
man's  eyes  as  he  listened,  for  he  knew  of  this  sur 
prise  in  store  for  them,  and  had  had  a  hand  in 
planning  it. 


288      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING -SCHOOL 

It  is  all  in  Betty's  Good  Times  book,  even  to  the 
way  they  rolled  down  the  steps  and  fell  over  each 
other  in  their  haste  to  reach  her,  and  the  welcome 
that  made  it  seem  more  than  ever  as  if  they  were 
coming  home  from  a  long  journey  to  spend  their 
Christmas  vacation,  just  as  thousands  of  other 
schoolgirls  were  doing  all  over  the  country.  Then  the 
drive  homeward  in  the  frosty,  starlit  dusk  to  find 
Locust  all  atwinkle,  a  light  in  every  window  and  a 
fire  on  every  hearth ;  the  great  front  door  swinging 
wide  on  its  hospitable  hinges  to  send  a  stream  of 
light  down  the  avenue  to  meet  them,  and  the  spirit 
of  Christmas  cheer  and  expectancy  falling  warm 
upon  them  as  they  crossed  the  threshold. 

The  memory  of  it  would  be  something  to  be  glad 
for  always,  Betty  thought,  as  she  danced  into  the 
long  drawing-room  after  Lloyd,  and  saw  the  old 
Colonel  start  up  from  his  chair  before  the  fire  and 
come  forward  to  meet  them,  the  candle-light  falling 
softly  on  his  silver  hair  and  smiling  face. 

Although  Betty  had  laid  aside  her  unfinished 
romance  of  Gladys  and  Eugene,  she  could  no  more 
help  writing  than  a  fish  can  keep  from  swimming, 
and  that  is  why  her  Good  Times  book  held  so  many 
interesting  pages.  All  the  energy  and  time  that 
would  have  been  put  into  the  silly  little  novel  went 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  289 

instead  to  the  description  of  real  scenes  and  real 
people,  which  in  after  years  made  the  little  white 
books  the  most  precious  volumes  in  all  her  library. 
As  fast  as  one  was  rilled  she  began  another.  The 
one  now  on  her  desk  had  the  number  IV.  stamped 
in  gold  on  the  white  kid  cover,  under  her  initials. 

There  were  few  pages  in  this  fourth  volume  more 
interesting  than  the  ones  she  found  time  to  write 
on  Christmas  Eve.  She  had  gone  with  Lloyd  and 
Allison  and  Kitty  that  afternoon  in  search  for  Christ 
mas  greens  with  which  to  decorate  the  house. 

Malcolm  and  Keith  Maclntyre,  Rob  Moore,  and 
Ranald  Walton  had  met  them  in  Tanglewood,  their 
guns  over  their  shoulders,  and  had  joined  them  in 
their  quest.  The  mistletoe  they  wanted  grew  too 
high  to  be  climbed  for  or  to  be  dislodged  by  throw 
ing  at,  but  Ranald,  an  expert  marksman,  volunteered 
to  shoot  down  all  they  could  carry.  He  was  just 
home  from  military  school  on  his  vacation,  and  Rob 
Moore  had  been  out  for  two  days  hunting  with 
him.  Malcolm  and  Keith  had  been  at  their  grand 
mother's  several  days,  tramping  long  distances  over 
the  frosty  fields,  and  coming  in  well  satisfied  each 
evening  with  the  contents  of  their  game-bags. 

Malcolm  and  Rob  were  to  leave  for  the  same  col 
lege-preparatory  school  after  the  holidays,  and  as 


290      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

they  were  going  back  to  town  on  the  five  o'clock 
train  they  had  but  a  short  time  left  to  spend  in  the 
Valley.  So  the  party,  after  some  discussion,  divided 
into  three  groups,  agreeing  to  meet  at  the  depot. 

Ranald  strode  away  across  the  woods  as  fast  as 
his  long  legs  would  carry  him  to  the  trees  where 
the  mistletoe  hung.  Kitty  and  Katie  kept  close  in 
his  wake,  swinging  the  baskets  between  them  that 
he  was  to  fill.  Keith  and  Betty  hurried  on  to  the 
place  where  the  bittersweet  grew  thickest,  while 
Rob  and  Allison,  Malcolm  and  Lloyd  strolled  along, 
filling  their  baskets  from  the  occasional  trees  of 
hemlock,  spruce,  and  cedar  they  found  on  their 
way  among  the  bare  oaks  and  beeches.  Now  and 
then  they  found  a  pine  with  the  brown  cones  cling 
ing  to  the  spicy  boughs. 

Only  Betty's  part  of  that  quest  is  in  the  little 
white  record ;  how  they  ran  along  through  Tangle- 
wood  that  afternoon,  she  and  Keith,  in  the  late 
December  sunshine,  breathing  in  the  woodsy  odour 
of  the  fallen  leaves  and  the  crisp  frostiness  of  the 
air,  until  the  blood  tingled  in  their  finger-tips  and 
their  cheeks  grew  red  as  rosy  apples. 

It  was  a  pretty  picture  she  left  on  the  page,  of 
the  winter  woods,  of  the  old  stile  leading  into  the 
adjoining  churchyard,  where  in  almost  a  thicket 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  2QI 

of  bare  dogwood-trees  and  lilac-bushes  stood  the 
little  Episcopal  church,  built  like  the  one  next  the 
manse,  of  picturesque  gray  stone.  The  walls  were 
aglow  with  the  brilliant  red  and  orange  berries 
of  the  bittersweet,  which  hung  even  from  the  eaves 
and  cornices,  and  from  every  place  where  the  grace 
ful  vines  could  trail  and  twist  and  clamber. 

Lloyd  kept  no  record  of  that  afternoon,  but  she 
never  forgot  it.  She  walked  along,  her  eyes  shining 
like  stars,  her  cheeks  glowing.  Her  dark  blue  cap 
and  jacket  made  her  hair  seem  all  the  fairer  by 
contrast,  and  there  was  a  glint  of  gold  in  it,  wher 
ever  the  sun  touched  it  through  the  trees. 

Rob  and  Malcolm  were  full  of  their  plans  for 
the  coming  term,  and  talked  of  little  else  all  the 
way  through  the  woods,  but  as  they  reached  the 
stile,  over  which  Keith  and  Betty  had  passed  some 
time  before,  Rob  exclaimed: 

"  I  forgot  to  tell  you,  Lloyd !  When  we  were  out 
hunting  yesterday  we  stopped  at  a  cabin  ever  so  far 
from  here,  to  rest  and  warm.  And  what  do  you 
suppose  we  saw  on  the  pendulum  of  an  old  clock, 
swinging  away  on  the  mantel  as  big  as  life?  Your 
picture!  The  one  of  the  Princess,  you  know,  with 
the  dove.  I  couldn't  believe  my  eyes  at  first.  The 
old  man  told  us  it  had  been  given  to  his  daughter, 


LITTLE   COLONEL    AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

and  when  he  found  out  who  Ranald  was  he  sent 
a  message  to  Mrs.  Walton  about  her.  She's  in 
a  hospital  and  will  soon  be  well  enough  to  come 
home.  Mrs.  Walton  told  us  all  about  it  last  night, 
how  the  girl  imagined  every  time  the  clock  ticked 
that  you  were  saying,  '  For  love  will  find  the  way.' 
It  made  quite  a  pretty  story,  but  you  can't  imagine 
how  queer  it  was  to<  stumble  across  your  picture  in 
such  an  out-of-the-way  place,  and  fixed  up  in  such 
odd  shapej  on  a  pendulum,  of  all  things !  " 

"  It  helped  Corono  ever  so  much,  mother  said," 
remarked  Allison.  "  That's  one  good  thing  our 
Shadow  Club  led  to,  if  nothing  else."  She  climbed 
up  on  the  stile  and  stood  looking  over,  exclaiming  at 
the  beauty  of  the  old  gray  walls,  draped  in  the 
masses  of  brilliant  bittersweet;  then,  springing' 
down,  ran  across  the  churchyard  to  join  Betty  and 
Keith  on  the  other  side  and  make  her  own  selection 
of  vines. 

Rob  leaned  his  gun  against  the  fence  and  took 
out  his  watch.  "  Only  half  an  hour  longer/'  he 
announced.  Then,  opening  the  back  of  his  watch- 
case,  he  held  it  out  toward  Lloyd. 

"  Do  you  remember  that  ?  "  he  asked,  nodding 
toward  a  little  four-leaf  clover  which  lay  flat  and 
green  inside.  "Your  good-luck  charm  worked 


"  MALCOLM,   LEANING   ON    HIS    GUN,   STOOD  WATCHING    HER." 


CHRISTMAS   GREENS  2Q3 

wonders,  Lloyd.  It  helped  me  through  my  Latin  in 
such  fine  shape  that  I  intend  to  carry  it  through 
college  with  me  all  the  way.  It's  like  the  picture 
on  the  pendulum,  isn't  it  ?  only  this  says,  '  For  luck 
will  find  the  way.' ' 

As  Lloyd  began  some  laughing  reply  about  his 
being  superstitious,  Betty's  voice  called  from  the 
vestry  door,  "  Oh,  Rob !  Come  around  here  a  min 
ute,  please!  Here's  the  loveliest  bunch  of  berries 
you  ever  saw^  and  it's  too  high  for  any  one  but 
you  to  reach !  " 

With  one  leap  Rob  was  over  the  stile  hurrying 
to  Betty's  assistance.  Lloyd  had  filled  both  pockets 
of  her  jacket  with  hickory-nuts  on  her  way  through 
Tanglewood,  and,  seating  herself  on  the  top  step 
of  the  stile,  she  began  cracking  them  with  a  round 
stone  which  she  had  picked  up  near  the  fence.  Mal 
colm,  leaning  on  his  gun,  stood  watching  her. 

"  You  never  gave  me  any  four-leaf  clover,  Lloyd," 
he  said,  in  a  low  tone,  as  Rob  strode  away. 

"  You  nevah  happened  to  be  around  when  I  found 
any,"  answered  Lloyd,  carelessly.  "  Have  a  nut 
instead."  She  nodded  toward  the  pile  on  the  step 
beside  her. 

Malcolm  flushed  a  trifle.  He  was  nearly  sixteen, 
tall  and  broad-shouldered,  but  the  colour  came  as 


294      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

easily  to  his  handsome  face  now  as  when  a  little 
fellow  of  ten  he  had  begged  her  to  keep  his  silver 
arrow  "  to  remember  him  by." 

"  No,  thanks,"  he  answered,  stiffly.  There  was  a 
jealous  note  in  his  voice  as  he  added,  "  And  you 
wouldn't  let  me  keep  the  little  heart  of  gold  that 
night  after  the  play." 

"  Of  co'se  not !  Papa  Jack  gave  me  that.  I  think 
everything  of  it." 

"  You  wouldn't  even  lend  it  to  me,"  he  continued. 

"  Because  we'd  come  to  the  end  of  the  play.  You 
were  not  Sir  Feal  any  longah,  and  you  didn't  have 
any  shield  to  bind  it  on,  so  what  good  would  it 
have  done?  " 

"  But  we  haven't  come  to  the  end  of  the  play," 
he  insisted.  "  I've  thought  of  you  ever  since  as 
my  Princess  Winsome,  and  it  has  been  more  than 
a  year  since  that  night.  Yesterday,  when  I  saw  your 
picture  on  the  pendulum,  and  heard  how  it  had  in 
fluenced  that  girl  in  the  cabin,  I  wished  that  I  could 
make  you  understand  how  much  more  your  influence 
means  to  me;  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  ask  you 
for  something.  Will  you  give  it  to  n^e,  Lloyd  ?  It's 
just  the  tip  of  that  little  curl  behind  your  ear.  It 
shines  like  gold,  and  I  want  to  put  it  in  the  back 
of  my  watch  as  a  talisman,  like  they  used  to  carry 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS 

in  old  times,  you  know  —  a  token  that  I  am  your 
knight,  and  that  I  may  do  as  it  says  in  the  song, 
come  back  to  you  '  on  some  glad  morrow.'  I  want 
to  carry  it  with  me  always,  as  I  shall  always  carry 
your  shadow-self  wherever  I  go>." 

Lloyd  bent  her  head  so  far  over  the  nuts  as  she 
chose  one  with  great  deliberation  that  her  hair  fell 
across  the  cheek  nearest  him,  and  he  could  not  see 
how  red  her  face  grew.  How  handsome  he  was, 
she  thought.  How  deep  and  clear  his  eyes  looked 
as  they  smiled  into  hers.  If  she  had  never  known 
of  Ida's  mistake  —  if  she  had  never  heard  the  Hilde- 
garde  story  —  there  might  have  crept  into  her  girlish 
fancy,  young  though  she  was,  the  thought  that  this 
was  the  love  written  for  her  in  the  stars.  But  like 
a  flash  came  the  recollection  of  old  Hildgardmar's 
warning : 

"  And  many  youths  will  come  to  thee,  each  beg 
ging,  '  Give  me  the  royal  mantle,  Hildegarde.  I  am 
the  prince  the  stars  have  destined  for  thee! ' 

And  then  his  words  of  blessing : 

"  Because  even  in  childhood  days  thou  ever  kept 
in  view  the  sterling  yardstick  as  I  bade  thee,  because 
no  single  strand  of  all  the  golden  warp  that  Clotho 
gave  thee  was  squandered  on  another,  because  thou 
waitedst  till  thy  woman's  fingers  wrought  the  best 


296      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

that  lay  within  thy  woman's  heart,  all  happiness  shall 
now  be  thine." 

"  Please,  Lloyd,"  he  asked  again,  in  a  low,  earnest 
tone. 

"I  —  I  can't,  Malcolm,"  she  stammered,  giving 
the  nut  she  had  chosen  a  sudden  blow  that  completely 
smashed  it. 

"  Why  not  ?  You  gave  Rob  the  clover  to  carry  in 
his  watch." 

"  That  was  different.  Rob  doesn't  care  for  the 
clovah  on  my  account.  He  carries  it  for  the  good 
luck  it  brings;  not  because  I  gave  it  to  him." 

"  But  he'll  get  to  caring  after  awhile,"  said  Mal 
colm,  moodily.  "  He  couldn't  help  it.  Nobody 
could  who  knew  you,  and  I  don't  want  him  to." 
Then,  after  a  long  pause  in  which  Lloyd  attended 
so  strictly  to  her  nut-cracking  that  she  did  not  even 
glance  in  his  direction,  he  asked,  jealously :  "  Would 
you  give  him  the  curl  if  he  asked  for  it?  " 

Something  in  his  tone  made  Lloyd  look  up  with  a 
provoking  little  smile.  "  No,"  she  answered,  "  not 
even  the  snippiest  little  snip  of  a  hair,  if  he  asked 
for  it  the  way  you  are  doing,  and  wanted  it  to  mean 
what  you  do  —  that  he  was  my  —  my  chosen  knight, 
you  know." 

"  Is  there  anybody  you  would  give  it  to,  Lloyd  ?  " 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  297 

His  persistence  only  made  her  shake  her  head  the 
more  obstinately.  It  did  not  take  much  teasing  to 
arouse  what  Mom  Beck  called  "  the  Lloyd  stubbo'- 
ness." 

"  No !  I  tell  you !  And  if  you  keep  on  talking 
that  way  I'm  going  home !  " 

"  Why  won't  you  let  me  talk  that  way?  This  is 
the  last  time  I'll  see  you  until  next  summer,  and  I'm 
dreadfully  in  earnest,  Lloyd.  You  don't  know  how 
much  it  means  to  me.  Don't  you  care  for  me  at 
all?" 

A  dozen  things  came  crowding  up  to  her  lips 
in  answer.  She  wanted  to  tell  him  the  story  of 
Hildegarde's  weaving  and  old  Hildgardmar's  warn 
ing.  She  wanted  to  say  that  she  could  not  trifle 
with  the  happiness  that  was  written  for  her  in  the 
stars  by  giving  away  even  a  strand  of  Clotho's 
golden  thread  before  she  was  old  enough  to  choose 
wisely  the  one  on  whom  to  bestow  such  a  favour. 
But  she  knew  that  he  would  not  understand  these 
allusions  to  a  story  of  which  he  had  never  heard. 

She  did  not  know  how  to  put  into  words  the  vague, 
undefined  feeling  that  she  had,  that  he  must  not 
come  to  her  with  such  speeches  until  he  had  won 
his  spurs  and  received  his  accolade.  It  was  her 
helplessness  to  answer  as  she  wished  that  made  her 


298      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

spring  up  impatiently  and  say  in  her  most  imperious, 
Little  Colonel-like  way,  "  Didn't  you  heah  me  tell 
you  to  stop  talking  that  way,  Malcolm  Maclntyre? 
Of  co'se  I  care  for  you.  I've  always  liked  you,  and 
I  think  you're  one  of  the  nicest  boys  I  know,  but 
I  won't  if  you  keep  on  that  way  when  I  tell  you 
to  stop.  You  might  at  least  wait  till  you  come  back 
from  college  and  let  me  see  what  sawt  of  a  man 
you've  turned  out  to  be !  " 

"  I'll  be  whatever  you  want  me  to  be,  Lloyd,"  he 
began,  but  just  then  the  mistletoe  gatherers  came 
running  down  the  path  toward  them,  and  Ranald's 
whistle  brought  the  others  from  the  churchyard 
with  their  bittersweet.  Lloyd  flung  away  her  nut 
shells,  and  standing  on  the  top  of  the  stile  brushed 
her  dress  with  her  handkerchief.  Malcolm,  swing 
ing  his  gun  to  his  shoulder,  picked  up  her  basket 
and  walked  beside  her  in  conscious  silence,  as  the 
merry  party  strolled  on  toward  the  depot. 

Several  times  she  glanced  up  shyly  at  him,  say 
ing  to  herself  again  that  he  was  certainly  one  of 
the  nicest  boys  she  knew,  the  most  courteous,  the 
most  attractive,  with  the  same  beauty  of  face  and 
polish  of  manner  that  had  made  him  such  a  winning 
little  Knight  of  Kentucky.  But  the  little  pin  he 
had  worn  as  the  badge  of  that  knighthood,  that 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  299 

stood  for  the  "  wearing  the  white  flower  of  a 
blameless  life,"  was  no  longer  on  the  lapel  of  his 
coat.  He  had  laid  it  aside  more  than  a  year  ago, 
saying  that  he  had  outgrown  that  child's  play,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  for  a  fellow  of  his  age  to 
live  up  to  it. 

As  Lloyd  noticed  its  absence  she  was  glad  that 
she  had  answered  him  as  she  did.  But  almost  with 
the  same  breath  came  the  recollection  that  he  had 
said,  "  I'll  be  whatever  you  want  me  to  be,  Lloyd," 
and  she  wondered  with  a  quicker  heart-throb  if  it 
were  really  so  that  she  had  power  to  wield  such  an 
influence  over  him,  and  she  wondered  also,  if  she 
had  given  him  the  curl  as  he  asked,  and  told  him 
that  she  wanted  him  to  wear  the  white  flower  again 
and  live  up  to  its  meaning,  if  he  would  have  done 
it  for  her  sake. 

Keith  rushed  on  ahead  to  see  if  the  man  had 
brought  their  suit-cases  down  to  the  waiting-room, 
and  the  others  crossed  over  to  the  store  for  some 
hot  pop-corn.  There  were  several  holly  wreaths 
hanging  in  the  window,  and  although  Lloyd  knew 
that  a  number  of  them  had  already  been  sent  out 
to  Locust  from  town,  she  could  not  resist  the  tempta 
tion  of  buying  the  largest  one  there,  it  was  so  un 
usually  bright  and  full  of  berries.  They  had  barely 


300      LITTLE   COLONFL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

reached  the  waiting-room  again  when  the  train  came 
thundering  along  the  track. 

With  hasty  good-byes  the  three  boys  hurried  up 
the  steps.  Keith  and  Rob  hung  on  to  the  railing 
on  the  platform  of  the  rear  car,  swinging  their  caps 
and  calling  back  various  messages  about  Christmas 
and  next  week  and  after  the  holidays,  but  Malcolm, 
after  one  long  look  into  the  Little  Colonel's  eyes, 
turned  and  went  into  the  car.  He  wanted  to  carry 
away  with  him  undisturbed  the  picture  she  made  as 
she  stood  there  on  the  platform,  waving  her  hand 
kerchief.  She  was  all  in  dark  blue,  her  fair  hair 
blowing  in  the  wind,  her  cheeks  a  delicate  wild  rose 
pink.  At  her  feet  was  the  basket  of  Christmas 
greens,  and  on  her  arm  hung  the  glowing  wreath 
of  Christmas  holly. 

It  was  the  last  night  of  the  old  year.  Watch-night, 
Mom  Beck  called  it,  and  as  soon  as  dinner  was  over 
she  and  Aunt  Cindy  and  Alec  hurried  away  to  Brier 
Creek  Church,  where  the  coloured  people  were  to 
hold  services  till  midnight,  watching  the  old  year 
out  and  the  new  year  in. 

It  had  been  a  busy  week  for  Lloyd  and  Betty. 
The  happiest  of  Christmas  Days  had  been  followed 
by  neighbourhood  parties,  entertainments,  and 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  30 1 

merrymakings  of  all  descriptions.  The  old  Southern 
mansion  rang  with  many  gay  young  voices,  and 
overflowed  with  life,  for  there  were  guests  within 
its  hospitable  gates  from  morning  until  night. 

But  now  a  lull  had  come  in  the  festivities.  The 
last  guest  had  departed  on  the  evening  train,  and 
ten  o'clock  found  the  house  strangely  still.  The 
servants  were  all  out.  Betty,  locked  in  her  room, 
busy  with  embroidery  silks,  was  finishing  a  little 
New  Year's  gift  with  which  to  surprise  her  god 
mother  on  the  morrow.  Mrs.  Sherman  had  gone 
up-stairs  to  sit  with  the  old  Colonel  awhile.  She 
had  not  been  able  to  give  him  much  of  her  time 
since  their  return  to  Locust,  and  to-night,  with  the 
waning  year,  he  seemed  to  want  her  to  himself  to 
talk  to  him  of  his  "  long,  long  ago,"  and  listen  to 
his  tales  of  old  days  which  grew  dearer  with  each 
passing  holiday  season. 

Only  Lloyd  and  her  father  were  left  in  the  long 
drawing-room.  She  had  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
keep  Watch-night  with  him. 

"  It's  only  two  houahs  moah,  mothah,"  she  said, 
beseechingly.  "  I'll  sleep  late  in  the  mawning  to 
make  up  for  it.  I've  scarcely  seen  Papa  Jack  since 
we  came  home,  and  he's  going  away  so  soon  again. 


3O2      LITTLE   COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

Besides,  I  nevah  did  sit  up  to  watch  a  new  yeah 
come  in." 

So  she  had  her  way,  and,  sitting  on  a  low  stool 
at  his  feet,  with  his  hand  softly  stroking  her  hair, 
they  talked  of  many  things. 

He  began  in  a  teasing,  playful  way,  "  You  haven't 
told  me  what  you  learned  at  boarding-school,  Little 
Colonel.  You  must  have  absorbed  a  vast  amount 
of '  knowledge,  when  even  your  nights  were  passed 
in  such  a  learned  institution." 

The  face  she  turned  toward  him  was  a  very  serious 
one,  for  the  time  had  come  for  confession.  Yet 
after  all  confession  did  not  seem  as  hard  as  she 
had  thought  it  would  be.  The  very  touch  of  his 
hand  on  her  hair  made  it  easier,  it  was  so  kind 
and  sympathetic.  She  had  always  gone  to  him  with 
all  her  childish  troubles  as  freely  as  she  had  to  her 
mother.  Presently  she  had  poured  out  the  whole 
story,  her  part  in  the  clandestine  correspondence, 
Edwardo's  coming  to  Locust,  her  struggle  in  that 
very  room  to  be  loyal  to  the  family  honour  and  her 
father's  trust  in  her. 

Allison's  Christmas  present  to  her  had  been  an 
autograph  copy  of  the  story  of  "  The  Three 
Weavers."  It  was  bound  in  water-colour  paper, 
tied  in  the  rose  and  gold  ribbons  of  the  Order,  and 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  303 

bore  on  the  cover  a  design  of  Allison's  own  painting, 
a  filmy  spider-web  held  by  a  row  of  golden  stars. 
Lloyd  showed  it  to  him  as  she  told  of  the  forming 
of  the  Order  of  Hildegarde  to  take  the  place  of  the 
old  Shadow  Club,  and  then^  spreading  the  book 
open  across  his  knee,  read  it  aloud  —  the  little  tale 
which  was  destined  to  play  such  an  important  part 
in  her  life,  and  which  already  had  influenced  her 
far  more  than  she  was  aware. 

When  she  had  finished  she  sat  idly  turning  the 
leaves  and  gazing  into  the  fire.  "  You  see,"  she 
said,  presently,  "  this  is  a  story  for  fathahs  and 
mothahs,  too,  and  —  and  —  I  want  you  to  give  me 
my  yah'dstick,  Papa  Jack." 

As  she  glanced  up  at  him  with  a  roguish  smile 
dimpling  her  face2  she  was  astonished  to  see  tears 
in  his  eyes.  He  had  been  very  silent  while  she  read 
the  story. 

"  My  precious  little  Hildegarde !  "  he  exclaimed, 
drawing  her  to  his  knee  and  folding  his  arms  around 
her.  She  laid  her  head  on  his  shoulder,  and  he 
began :  "  I  don't  suppose  you  can  understand  how 
I  feel  about  it,  Lloyd.  It  breaks  me  all  up  to  think 
that  my  Little  Colonel  is  near  enough  grown  to 
come  to  me  with  such  a  request.  If  I  could  have 
my  way  I  would  be  selfish  enough  to  want  to  keep 


304      LITTLE    COLONEL   AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

you  a  little  girl  always.  I  hate  to  think  that  a  time 
can  ever  come  when  any  one  may  ask  to  take  you 
from  me.  But,  Lloyd  darling-,  it  takes  all  the  sting 
out  of  that  thought  to  know  that  you  are  willing 
to  come  to  me  so  freely  with  your  questions  —  to 
know  that  there  is  such  perfect  confidence  between 
us  that  you  do  not  feel  the  embarrassment  that  most 
girls  feel  in  talking  with  their  fathers  on  such  a 
subject.  Let  me  think  a  moment,  for  I  want  to 
answer  as  wisely  as  old  Hildgardmar  did,  if  that  be 
possible." 

It  was  a  long  time  before  he  spoke  again.  Then 
he  said,  slowly,  "  There  are  only  three  notches  on 
the  yardstick  which  I  am  going  to  give  you,  Lloyd. 
The  prince  who  comes  asking  for  you  must  have, 
first,  a  clean  life.  There  must  be  no  wild  oats  sowed 
through  its  past  for  my  little  girl  to  help  reap,  for 
no  man  ever  gathers  such  a  harvest  alone.  Next,  he 
must  be  honourable  in  every  way  which  that  good 
old  word  implies.  The  man  who  is  that  will  not 
ask  anything  clandestine,  nor  will  he  ask  to  take 
you  from  a  comfortable  home  before  he  is  able  to 
provide  one  for  you  himself.  Then,  if  he  would 
measure  up  to  the  third  notch,  he  must  be  strong. 
Strong  in  character,  in  purpose,  and  endeavour. 
There  are  many  things  that  I  might  ask  for  my 


CHRISTMAS  GREENS  305 

only  child,  many  things  that  I  would  gladly  choose 
for  her  if  the  choice  were  left  to  me:  family,  posi 
tion,  wealth  —  but  they  are  nothing  when  weighed 
in  the  balance  with  the  love  of  an  honest  man.  If 
his  life  be  clean  and  honourable  and  strong,  then 
choose  as  you  will,  my  blessing  shall  go  with  you !  " 

Instantly  there  flashed  into  Lloyd's  thoughts  the 
recollection  of  a  boyish  figure  standing  beside  the 
old  stile,  and  she  wondered  how  far  he  would 
measure  up  to  that  standard.  Clean  in  life  and  habit  ? 
He  had  always  seemed  so,  but  a  little  doubt  dis 
turbed  her  as  she  thought  of  the  white  flower  he  no 
longer  wore,  and  what  he  had  said  about  it.  Strong 
in  purpose  and  in  effort?  It  was  too  soon  to  tell. 
He  was  only  a  boy  with  all  his  uncertain  future 
before  him,  with  all  the  temptations  of  his  college 
days  still  unmet  and  unconquered. 

As  she  felt  her  father's  protecting  arm  around 
her,  she  nestled  closer  in  that  safe,  sure  shelter, 
and  sat  considering  what  he  had  said.  Once  she 
glanced  up  at  the  portrait  over  the  mantel,  and  met 
the  gaze  of  the  beautiful  eyes  of  the  young  girl 
beside  the  harp  —  Amanthis,  who  had  made  no 
mistake  in  her  choosing,  whose  girlish  romance  had 
bloomed  as  sweetly  as  the  June  roses  that  she  wore. 

Presently  Lloyd's  arm  stole  up  around  her  father's 


306      LITTLE   COLONEL  AT  BOARDING-SCHOOL 

neck,  and  she  softly  repeated  the  words  of  Hilde- 
garde's  promise: 

" '  You  may  trust  me,  fat  hah.  I  will  not  cut  the 
golden  warp  from  out  the  loom  until  I,  a  woman 
grown,  hdve  woven  such  a  web  as  thou  thyself  shalt 
say  is  worthy  of  a  prince's  wearing! ' " 

"  Dear  child,"  he  answered,  huskily,  "  you  have 
crowned  not  only  this  year  for  me,  but  all  the  years, 
with  that  promise.  God  grant  that  you  may  find 
all  happiness  written  for  you  in  His  stars !  " 

The  candles  were  burning  low  in  their  silver 
sconces  now.  The  fire  on  the  hearth  was  only  a 
mass  of  glowing  embers,  and  as  the  clock  ticked  on 
toward  midnight,  they  sat  in  happy  silence,  await 
ing  the  dawn  of  the  untried  new  year. 


THE  END. 


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The  Little  Colonel  Stories. 

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School. 

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The  Little  Colonel. 

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In  the  Desert  of  Waiting :  THE  LEGEND 

OF  CAMELBACK  MOUNTAIN. 

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ing  in  a  mysterious  chase,  the  loss  of  their  prize  yacht,  and 
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whose  experiences  are  as  real  as  they  are  thrilling. 

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Captain  Jack  Lorimer.    By  WINN  STAN- 

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All  boys  and  girls  who  take  an  interest  in  school  athletics 
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Captain  Jack's  Champions  play  quite  as  good  ball  as  do 
some  of  the  teams  on  the  large  leagues,  and  they  put  all 
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is  anything  in  the  animal  book  line  that  has  seen  the  light.  It 
\s  a  book  for  j  uveniles  —  old  and  young. " —  Philadelphia  Item, 

'Tilda  Jane.      By  MARSHALL  SAUNDERS. 

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"  It  is  one  of  those  exquisitely  simple  and  truthful  books 
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until  I  had  finished  it  —  honest  1  And  I  am  sure  that  every 
one,  young  or  old,  who  reads  will  be  proud  and  happy  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  the  delicious  waif. 

"  I  cannot  think  of  any  better  book  for  children  than  this. 
I  commend  it  unreservedly."  —  Cyrus  Townsend  Brady. 

The  Story  of  the  Qraveleys.  By  MAR 
SHALL  SAUNDERS,  author  of  "  Beautiful  Joe's  Para 
dise,"  "  'Tilda  Jane,"  etc. 

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Here  we  have  the  haps  and  mishaps,  the  trials  and  triumphs, 
of  a  delightful  New  England  family,  of  whose  devotion  and 
sturdiness  it  will  do  the  reader  good  to  hear. 

Bom  to  the  Blue.      By  FLORENCE  KIMBALL 
RUSSEL. 
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The  atmosphere  of  army  life  on  the  plains  breathes  on 
every  page  of  this  delightful  tale.  The  boy  is  the  son  of  a 
captain  of  U.  S.  cavalry  stationed  at  a  frontier  post  in  the 
days  when  our  regulars  earned  the  gratitude  of  a  nation. 


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In  West  Point  Gray.      By  FLORENCE  KIM- 
BALL  RUSSEL. 

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Here  the  training  of  his  childhood  days  in  the  frontier  army 

post  stands  him  in  good  stead ;  and  he  quickly  becomes  the 

central  figure  of  the  West  Point  life. 

The  Sandman ;  His  Farm  Stories. 

By  WILLIAM  J.  HOPKINS.     With  fifty  illustrations  by 
Ada  Clendenin  Williamson. 

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"  An  amusing,  original  book,  written  for  the  benefit  of  very 
small  children.  It  should  be  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the 
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press, 

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By  WILLIAM  J.  HOPKINS. 

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Mr.  Hopkins's  first  essay  at  bedtime  stories  met  with  such 
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issued  for  scores  of  eager  children.  Life  on  the  farm,  and 
out-of-doors,  is  portrayed  in  his  inimitable  manner. 

The    Sandman:  His    Ship  Stories. 

By  WILLIAM  J.  HOPKINS,  author  of  "  The  Sandman  : 

His  Farm   Stories,"    etc. 

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this  book  a  treasure."  —  Cleveland  Leader. 

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PllSSy-Cat  Town.      By  MARION   AMES  TAG- 

GART. 

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"  Pussy-Cat  Town  "  is  a  most  unusual  delightful  cat  story. 
Ban-Ban,  a  pure  Maltese  who  belonged  to  Rob,  Kiku-san, 
Lois's  beautiful  snow-white  pet,  and  their  neighbors  Bedelia 
the  tortoise-shell,  Madame  Laura  the  widow,  Wutz  Butz  the 
warrior,  and  wise  old  Tommy  Traddles,  were  really  and  truly 
cats. 

The  Roses  of  Saint  Elizabeth.    By  JANE 

SCOTT  WOODRUFF,  author  of  "  The  Little  Christmas 
Shoe" 

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This  is  a  charming  little  story  of  a  child  whose  father  was 
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Elizabeth  once  had  her  home. 

Gabriel  and  the  Hour  Book.    BVEVA- 

LEEN  STEIN. 

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Gabriel  was  a  loving,  patient,  little  French  lad,  who  assisted 
the  monks  in  the  long  ago  days,  when  all  the  books  were 
written  and  illuminated  by  hand,  in  the  monasteries. 

The    Enchanted    Automobile.    Trans 

lated  from  the  French  by  MARY  J.  SAFFORD. 
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The  enchanted  automobile  was  sent  by  the  fairy  god 
mother  of  a  lazy,  discontented  little  prince  and  princess  to 
take  them  to  fairyland,  where  they  might  visit  their  story 
book  favorites. 


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The  Red  Feathers.   By  THEODORE  ROBERTS, 
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"  The  Red  Feathers"  tells  of  the  remarkable  adventures  of 
an  Indian  boy  who  lived  in  the  Stone  Age,  many  years  ago, 
when  the  world  was  young,  and  when  fairies  and  magicians 
did  wonderful  things  for  their  friends  and  enemies. 

The  Wreck  of  the  Ocean  Queen.    By 

James  Otis,  author  of  "  Larry  Hudson's  Ambition," 

etc. 

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perience  in  a  terrific  gale ;  and  finally  a  shipwreck,  with  a 
mutineering  crew  determined  to  take  the  treasure  to  compli 
cate  matters. 

But  only  the  mutineers  will  come  to  serious  harm,  and 
after  the  reader  has  known  the  thrilling  excitement  of  lack  of 
food  and  water,  of  attacks  by  night  and  day,  and  of  a  hand-to- 
hand  fight,  he  is  rescued  and  brought  safely  home  again,  — 
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one. 

Little  White  Indians.     By  FANNIE   E. 

OSTRANDER. 

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The  "  Little  White  Indians  "  were  two  families  of  children 
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built  wigwams  and  made  camps ;  they  went  hunting  and 
fought  fierce  battles  on  the  war-trail. 

A  bright,  interesting  story  which  will  appeal  strongly  to 
the  "  make-believe  "  instinct  in  children,  and  will  give  them  a 
healthy,  active  interest  in  "  the  simple  life." 


BOOKS  FOR   YOUNG  PEOPLE 


PHYLLIS'  FIELD  FRIENDS  SERIES 

By  LENORE  E.  MULETS 
Six   vols.,   cloth    decorative,    illustrated    by    Sophie 
Schneider.    Sold  separately,  or  as  a  set. 

Per  volume $1.00 

Per  set 6.00 

Insect  Stories. 

Stories  of  Little  Animals. 

Flower  Stories. 

Bird  Stories. 

Tree  Stories. 

Stories  of  Little  Pishes. 

In  this  series  of  six  little  Nature  books,  it  is  the  author's  in 
tention  so  to  present  to  the  child  reader  the  facts  about  each 
particular  flower,  insect,  bird,  or  animal,  in  story  form,  as  to 
make  delightful  reading.  Classical  legends,  myths,  poems, 
and  songs  are  so  introduced  as  to  correlate  fully  with  these 
lessons,  to  which  the  excellent  illustrations  are  no  little  help 

THE  WOODRANGER  TALES 

By  G.   WALDO  BROWNE 

The  Wood  ranger. 
The  Young  Qunbearer. 
The  Hero  of  the  Hills. 
With  Rogers'   Rangers. 

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Four  vols.,  boxed,  per  set  ....  S.oo 
"  The  Woodranger  Tales,"  like  the  "  Pathfinder  Tales  "  of 
J.  Fenimore  Cooper,  combine  historical  information  relating 
to  early  pioneer  days  in  America  with  interesting  adventures 
in  the  backwoods.  Although  the  same  characters  are  con 
tinued  throughout  the  series,  each  book  is  complete  in  itself, 
and,  while  based  strictly  on  historical  facts,  is  an  interesting 
and  exciting  tale  of  adventure. 


THE  LITTLE  COUSIN  SERIES 


The  most  delightful  and  interesting  accounts  possible 
of  child  life  in  other  lands,  filled  with  quaint  sayings, 
doings,  and  adventures. 

Each  one  vol.,  1 2mo,  decorative  cover,  cloth,  with  six  or  more 
full-page  illustrations  in  color. 


Price  per  volume 


Jo.  60 


By    MARY     HAZELTON      WADE     (unless     otherwise 
indicated) 


Our  Little  African  Cousin 

Our  Little  Alaskan  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon -Roulet 

Our  Little  Arabian  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Armenian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Brown  Cousin 

Our  Little  Canadian  Cousin 

By  Elizabeth  R.  Macdonald 

Our  Little  Chinese  Cousin 

By  Isaac  Taylor  Headland 

Our  Little  Cuban  Cousin 

Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  English  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Eskimo  Cousin 

Our  Little  French  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  German  Cousin 
Our  Little  Hawaiian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Indian  Cousin 


Our  Little  Irish  Cousin 
Our  Little  Italian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Japanese  Cousin 
Our  Little  Jewish  Cousin 

Our  Little  Korean  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Mexican  Cousin 

By  Edward  C.  Butler 

Our  Little  Norwegian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Panama  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Philippine  Cousin 
Our  Little  Porto  Rican  Cousin 
Our  Little  Russian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Siamese  Cousin 

Our  Little  Spanish  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon -Roulet 

Our  Little  Swedish  Cousin 

By  Claire  M.  Coburn 

Our  Little  Swiss  Cousin 
Our  Little  Turkish  Cousin 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  publishers  that  this  series  shall 
contain  only  the  very  highest  and  purest  literature,  — 
stories  that  shall  not  only  appeal  to  the  children  them 
selves,  but  be  appreciated  by  all  those  who  feel  with 
them  in  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

The  numerous  illustrations  in  each  book  are  by  well- 
known  artists,  and  each  volume  has  a  separate  attrac 
tive  cover  design. 

Each  i  vol.,  i6mo,  cloth          .        .        .       ..        $0.50 

By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 

The  Little  Colonel.          (Trade  Mark.) 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  Kentucky.  Its  hero 
ine  is  a  small  girl,  who  is  known  as  the  Little  Colonel, 
on  account  of  her  fancied  resemblance  to  an  old-school 
Southern  gentleman,  whose  fine  estate  and  old  family 
are  famous  in  the  region. 

The  Giant  Scissors. 

This  is  the  story  of  Joyce  and  of  her  adventures 
in  France.  Joyce  is  a  great  friend  of  the  Little  Colonel, 
and  in  later  volumes  shares  with  her  the  delightful  ex 
periences  of  the  "  House  Party  "  and  the  "  Holidays." 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 

WHO  WERE  THE  LITTLE  COLONEL'S  NEIGHBORS. 

In  this  volume  the  Little  Colonel  returns  to  us  like  an 
old  friend,  but  with  added  grace  and  charm.  She  is 
not,  however,  the  central  figure  of  the  story,  that  place 
being  taken  by  the  "  two  little  knights." 

Mildred's  Inheritance. 

A  delightful  little  story  of  a  lonely  English  girl  who 
comes  to  America  and  is  befriended  by  a  sympathetic 
American  family  who  are  attracted  by  her  beautiful 
speaking  voice.  By  means  of  this  one  gift  she  is  en 
abled  to  help  a  school-girl  who  has  temporarily  lost  the 
use  of  her  eyes,  and  thus  finally  her  life  becomes  a  busy, 
happy  one. 


L.  C.   PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 
By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON  (Continued) 

Cicely  and  Other  Stories  for  Qirls. 

The  readers  of  Mrs.  Johnston's  charming  juveniles 
will  be  glad  to  learn  of  the  issue  of  this  volume  for 
young  people. 

Aunt  'Liza's  Hero  and  Other  Stories. 

A  collection  of  six  bright  little  stories,  which  will 
appeal  to  all  boys  and  most  girls. 

Big  Brother. 

A  story  of  two  boys.  The  devotion  and  care  of 
Steven,  himself  a  small  boy,  for  his  baby  brother,  is  the 
theme  of  the  simple  tale. 

Ole  Mammy's  Torment. 

«Ole  Mammy's  Torment"  has  been  fitly  called  "a 
classic  of  Southern  life."  It  relates  the  haps  and  mis 
haps  of  a  small  negro  lad,  and  tells  how  he  was  led  by 
love  and  kindness  to  a  knowledge  of  the  right. 

The  Story  of  Dago. 

In  this  story  Mrs.  Johnston  relates  the  story  of  Dago, 
a  pet  monkey,  owned  jointly  by  two  brctners.  Dago 
tells  his  own  story,  and  the  account  of  his  haps  and  mi*> 
haps  is  both  interesting  and  amusing. 

The  Quilt  That  Jack  Built. 

A  pleasant  little  story  of  a  boy's  labor  of  love,  and 
how  it  changed  the  course  of  his  life  many  years  after 
it  was  accomplished. 

Flip's  Islands  of  Providence. 

A  story  of  a  boy's  life  battle,  his  early  defeat,  and  his 
"  triumph,  well  worth  the  reading. 


CORNER  SERIES 


By  EDITH  ROBINSON 

A  Little  Puritan's  First  Christmas. 

A  Story  of  Colonial  times  in  Boston,  telling  how 
Christmas  was  invented  by  Betty  Sewall,  a  typical  child 
of  the  Puritans,  aided  by  her  brother  Sam. 

A  Little  Daughter  of  Liberty. 

The  author  introduces  this  story  as  follows : 
"  One  ride  is  memorable  in  the  early  history  of  the 
American  Revolution,  the  well-known  ride  of  Paul 
Revere.  Equally  deserving  of  commendation  is  another 
ride,  —  the  ride  of  Anthony  Severn,  —  which  was  no  less 
historic  in  its  action  or  memorable  in  its  consequences." 

A  Loyal  Little  Maid. 

A  delightful  and  interesting  story  of  Revolutionary 
days,  in  which  the  child  heroine,  Betsey  Schuyler, 
renders  important  services  to  George  Washington. 

A  Little  Puritan  Rebel. 

This  is  an  historical  tale  of  a  real  girl,  during  the 
time  when  the  gallant  Sir  Harry  Vane  was  governor  of 
Massachusetts. 

A  Little  Puritan  Pioneer. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  the  Puritan  settle 
ment  at  Charlestown. 

A  Little  Puritan  Bound  QirK 

A  story  of  Boston  in  Puritan  days,  which  J«  of  great 
interest  to  youthful  readers. 

A  Little  Puritan  Cavalier. 

The  story  of  a  "  Little  Puritan  Cavalier "  who  tried 
with  all  his  boyish  enthusiasm  to  emulate  the  spirit  and 
ideals  of  the  dead  Crusaders. 

A  Puritan  Knight  Errant. 

The  story  tells  of  a  young  lad  in  Colonial  times  who 
endeavored  to  carry  out  the  high  ideals  of  the  knights 
of  olden  days. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  QUID  A  (Louise  de  la  Ramie) 

A  Dog  Of  Flanders :  A  CHRISTMAS  STORY. 
Too  well  and  favorably  known  to  require  description. 

The  Nurnberg  Stove. 

This  beautiful  story  has  never  before  been  published 
at  a  popular  price. 

By  FRANCES  MARGARET  FOX 

The  Little  Giant's  Neighbours. 

A  charming  nature  story  of  a  "little  giant"  whose 
neighbours  were  the  creatures  of  the  field  and  garden. 

Farmer  Brown  and  the  Birds. 

A  little  story  which  teaches  children  that  the  birds 
are  man's  best  friends. 

Betty  of  Old  Mackinaw. 

A  charming  story  of  child-life,  appealing  especially  to 
the  little  readers  who  like  stories  of  "  real  people." 

Brother  Billy. 

The  story  of  Betty's  brother,  and  some  further  ad 
ventures  of  Betty  herself. 

Mother  Nature's  Little  Ones. 

Curious  little  sketches  describing  the  early  lifetime, 
or  "  childhood,"  of  the  little  creatures  out-of-doors. 

How  Christmas  Came  to  the  Mul- 
vaneys. 

A  bright,  lifelike  little  story  of  a  family  of  poor  chil 
dren,  with  an  unlimited  capacity  for  fun  and  mischief. 
The  wonderful  never-to-be  forgotten  Christmas  that 
came  to  them  is  the  climax  of  a  series  of  exciting  inci 
dents. 


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